By now, you need no explanation of what coronavirus is. The infection, also known as COVID-19, is impacting people all over the world. Latest reports have the total number of global cases greater than 93,000. There have been 3,200 reported fatalities worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, that puts the coronavirus global death rate at 3.4 percent.
Here, in Canada, the number of infected people is rising, but thankfully at a very slow rate. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, there are now 33 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 20 of them in MeloTel’s home province of Ontario. In the United States, nine deaths have been reported, due to coronavirus.
Put efforts into preventing the spread of infection in the workplace.
We would like to stress that the Public Health Agency of Canada has assessed the public health risk associated with COVID-19 as “low” for Canada. Nevertheless, it’s still imperative to take measures to protect everyone’s health. As a business owner, one of your first and most important steps should be to implement strict hygiene policies in your workplace.
Warding off any possible spread of COVID-19 requires similar actions to that of keeping people flu-free. If you haven’t yet, hold a meeting with your staff and provide them with the following instructions:
-Wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds on a regular basis, especially before and after eating, after you have used the washroom, blown your nose, coughed or sneezed
-Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth before washing your hands
-Always cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throw it in the trash immediately after
-Stay at home if you are feeling sick
Keeping ill employees at home is vital.
Unquestionably, the easiest way to keep infections from spreading is to avoid being around other people when you are ill. It cannot be stressed enough that if any of your employees are feeling sick, you encourage them to remain at home and work on reclaiming their health. Understandably, you may be concerned about having too many people not come into work during this time.
Rani Molla addresses this concern in a recent Vox.com article. She points out that since the recent spike in coronavirus cases outside of China, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged Americans to ask their schools and workplaces about contingency plans, like working from home. It’s wise for you to consider your options.
Is it feasible to have your employees work from home?
“Remote workers make up anywhere from about 5 percent (those who typically work from home) to nearly two-thirds (who sometimes work remotely) of the workforce, depending on the measurement,” Molla reports, “What’s certain is that the trend has been ticking up and a pandemic like coronavirus has the potential to fast-track the move by making it more universally accepted and prominent.”
Please don’t hesitate to contact the MeloTel team to inquire about how our cloud-hosted Commercial Phone Services can allow your employees to work from home. You’ll learn about CloudSoftphone, MeloSIP and several other features that will make transitions from office to home easy for your workers.
Call us today at 1-888-MELOTEL or use the Live Chat feature on our website!
