Whatever you do in business when hearing about the Coronavirus in Vermont or New Hampshire, don’t panic.
Protecting You and Your Workforce
If you are a sole proprietor, then you only need to think about yourself and how to protect yourself if it comes to your area.
If you have employees, you do have an obligation to protect them as best as possible when on the job. The first step is to create a plan. The next step is to implement that plan.
Some of the things you are going to need are going to be:
- Hand sanitizer
- Disinfecting Wipes
- Medical Masks
- Process for those that are sick
You will have to think about who in your workforce have to travel in the area and abroad. Do you have any employees that travel overseas right now? Do you have customers from outside the country coming to your office? These are the type of meetings that may be best done over a web conference to reduce the spread from one continent to another.
Employees Family and Friends
Another aspect about this is who in your workforce has friends of family that have come in contact with someone that has traveled outside the country to Italy, China or any of the other countries that have large outbreaks? Ask your employees if anyone in their friends and family circle have traveled outside the country or come in contact with someone in the United States that has the Coronavirus?
What Happens If You Do Get It?
If you think that you have come into contact with someone that has COVID-19 (Coronavirus) stay home except to get medical care. Do not go to work, school or public areas. Avoid using public transportation, ride-sharing, or taxis while you are sick.
If you have pets in your home, don’t handle them while sick. See this article from the CDC about animals.
Wash your hands often and cover your face to prevent the spread of the virus. Make sure your home has good airflow. If you have them wear disposable gloves also. Reduce the amount of time that you touch your face. This is a very common thing that people do without even knowing it. Germs often get into our systems through touching our eyes, nose and mouth.
Make A Plan For Loss Of Workforce
If you do have some of your workforce come down with COVID-19, you should have a plan for the remains workforce to cover that loss. This might be offering overtime, or hiring in part-time workers to fill the void. Whatever you do to keep your business running smoothly, make sure you have a plan ahead of time and you’re not figuring it out on the fly.