Coronavirus: A few guidelines to be mindful of if you are still going to work
Update: In a week’s time every country on the planet is now infected — 195 countries, 381,000 affected persons and almost 17000 deaths across the world due to Covid — 19.
At the time of writing this article — there are already 157 countries, 170,000 persons and 6,500 confirmed deaths due to the novel coronavirus also called Covid-19. By now most countries have taken drastic measures in terms of prohibiting public gatherings and thus are trying to control the spread of the virus. I am pretty sure this has affected the entire world by now and there are a few things to keep in mind while we try to cull the spread of this extremely viral but non-threatening virus.
One of the things that have kept the human guard down till now is the fact that it is not a lethal virus. Currently, the fatality rates are in the 3–4% range, mostly impacting the older population or people with a pre-condition. Other viruses have seen higher fatality rates such as SARS (10%), MERS (35%) but they did not spread and infect people as quickly. What is important to understand is that once the virus starts spreading rampantly it ends up creating panic in the masses and people who are most vulnerable to the disease might find it hard to find a bed in the hospital or timely treatment. By now you must have also read that the best way to combat this is to flatten the curve — which basically means that it is best that everyone delays getting infected with the virus for as long as possible as this will enable us to put the least amount of pressure on the healthcare systems that are in place across various countries & the world.
India is currently in its 3rd week and is mirroring the exact numbers that have been seen in countries where the virus has wreaked havoc. The graph below shows how aggressively the virus is multiplying and that weeks 4 & 5 are extremely critical in terms of curtailing the spread. For India and any other country that falls in this bucket, the next couple of weeks will define how well we cope with the spread of the disease.
Since the declaration of a Pandemic, most tech firms have asked their employees to work from home to enable social distancing and to reduce the stress on its employees to keep functioning for a longer duration of time. However, this is not possible for most businesses and the biggest losers in this whole thing are the SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises) and family-run organizations that need people to be physically present to carry out daily activities like manufacturing, transportation, service industry, etc. Below I am outlining some basic precautions that can be taken to avoid/delaying of catching the virus:
As an employer:
• Communicate: These are trying times and the best an employer can do is support its employees by communicating well, including everyone & answering questions to reduce confusion that any of the employees might have regarding office timings, leaves & work from home policies. If needed, please support your employees financially as well.
• Flexibility: Be flexible with your plans and constantly change and implement them basis the situation. Always remember prevention is better than cure. It is for the benefit of the organization as employees are less likely to fall sick and deepen the burden on the organization.
• Educating the staff: Educate your staff to take the necessary precautions and best practices while maintaining hygiene at the workplace. Do not cut corners if you are expecting your employees to come to work
• Mandate leaves for the sick: Bring in a temporary policy of mandatory leaves for anyone feeling sick so that others are safeguarded as much as possible from getting infected through this one person. Ensure that people understand this & in case need be re-educate them.
• Disinfect as much as possible: Places that are regularly touched by everyone such as doors, knobs, drawers, meeting rooms, etc. should be disinfected regularly so that the chances of catching the virus reduces.
As an employee:
• Maintain hygiene: It is really important that we maintain our hygiene by consistently cleaning our hands by soap or hand sanitizers. These measures are important to keep ourselves safe as long as possible and to teach our children the importance of hygiene at such times. Check out this video on how viruses react to soap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLgdCNr0NIk
• Do not hesitate to take the day(s) off: If you saw the graph above it is critical to understand the importance of delaying the onset of the virus to us as much as possible. In case you are feeling unwell or suffering any of the coronavirus symptoms it is crucial that you take the day(s) off and self isolate. One person can really make a huge difference. These are extremely unique circumstances and your employer will understand.
• Do not take this lightly: I notice that a lot of people are taking this as a joke at the moment and are convinced that nothing can happen to them. Before it is too late, please realize that it is our collective responsibility to ensure that we do not fall sick. If you feel sick please get yourself treated and take the necessary precautions so that you do not spread the disease further.
• Work without air conditioner: It is better to stay away from closed environments especially where central air conditioning is in place. These can turn into breeding grounds for viruses as the air we breathe keeps circulating without an opportunity for the virus to escape or get eradicated easily.
• Rumour mongering: Please refrain from spreading fear and rumors as they can lead to massive panics and unusual behavior. This, in turn, could end up being dangerous and mentally affect people in ways that could be unrepairable.
• Avoid communal eating & sharing of objects: Eating is a communal activity for us, but it is best that you quietly eat at your desk and not share any of the food that you have brought in from home. You can always go back to sharing that delicious biryani or pizza once our lives return to normal.
• Take precautions while commuting: Try and commute to the office & back with as much isolation as possible and avoid public transportation. Try to avoid touching surfaces and things around you so that you can avoid an infection.
• Postpone travel: Postpone travel to a later date for all non-essential travel. Do remember this is a worldwide phenomenon and even where your business is taking you, the likelihood of it being shut is quite high.
We cannot emphasize enough on how crucial the next couple of weeks are for the safety & well being of humanity and our infrastructure. We can laugh this off once this subsides but till then, we think for the interest of everyone’s safety it is best that we keep to ourselves and isolate from the world. Here are some more resources that have been widely received in the last couple of days in case you are trying to keep yourself & your loved ones better informed.
Act today or people will die: https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca
Why diseases like coronavirus spread exponentially and how to flatten the curve: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/
The US interim guidelines for businesses: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html
We are all responsible for this & every person matters. Please use the power of the internet to spread this as far and as quickly as possible. We are basically stacked up against time and fast actions and decisions will define the future generations of our kind.
