Businesses Starting to ALERT Associates (internal email) UPDATE 3-2-2020

The email I am about to share is from the company I work for. I work from home for a large tech company.

I live near the bootheel of MO.

I asked my boss on Monday if our company ever shutdown travel before he said yes once in 2001 pulled all technicians that were working in the field back home and restricted travel as corporate jet was grounded.

Please don't ask the name of the company I work for. I need this job and don't want to get in trouble.

The Email:

The Corporate Leadership Team is closely monitoring developments surrounding the coronavirus (more specifically COVID-19). The virus has had a significant impact in China and has seen increased exposure in some areas of Europe and Asia. While the spread of the virus within the United States has been limited, we have reviewed our internal processes to ensure we are ready if a larger impact to the United States is experienced.
While many of the specifics around coronavirus are still evolving, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that washing your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water – standard practice for reducing the spread of the flu – will also reduce the likelihood of spreading the coronavirus.
Please review the Occupational Risk Management (ORM) and newsletter for regularly updated information. ORM will post a best practices document for you to consider in the event of a possible escalation of the coronavirus threat in the future. You can also find useful information about the virus at [link to www.cdc.gov (secure)]

Take Precautions
Disinfecting wipes are available in all our facilities for Associates to wipe down common areas. Additionally, if an area is found to have been exposed to a communicable illness, a process has been established to spray that location to reduce the potential spread of infection.

relies on our Associates to practice excellent social responsibility. Please follow these best practices:
• Stay home if you have flu-like symptoms or respiratory illness. Symptoms include fever (greater than 100.4°), cough, sore throat, body aches, vomiting, or diarrhea.
• Immediately report the illness to your supervisor.
• Periodically wipe down common areas with disinfecting wipes. This includes door handles, tables, faucet handles, ice machine handles, and surfaces that are frequently touched by multiple individuals.
• Regularly wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (or an elbow or shoulder if no tissue is available).
• When possible, take advantage of Teams and other communication tools rather than traveling for meetings to avoid the spread of illness.
Before you decide to work from home, it is important to discuss your situation with your supervisor. Changes to your work schedule should be approved in advance to ensure your department has appropriate coverage.

Cyber Threat

On a related note, remember that cybercriminals like to take advantage of incidents such as the coronavirus threat to entice people to click on phishing emails and conduct social engineering attacks. Cybercriminals may send malware-laced emails with attachments and links to websites that can harvest your private information and passwords to exploit your personal and corporate accounts. Please remain diligent in reviewing any external email to ensure it is safe. If you are unsure, send the email to the Anti-Spam Mailbox for their evaluation.

Additional Information

With a limited number of coronavirus cases currently reported in the U.S., there is certainly no need to panic. However, we do believe it is prudent to be informed and prepared. ORM team is closely monitoring the situation and is meeting daily with executive management. We will keep you informed if the situation changes. Thank you for all your hard work.

UPDATE 3-2-2020 another Internal email

As we mentioned in our update on Thursday, the Corporate Leadership Team is closely monitoring developments surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19). The virus has continued to spread to a number of new countries over the weekend, including an increase in infections within the U.S. As of today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 43 cases in the U.S. across 10 states, including multiple deaths.
Due to a reported cluster of infections and related deaths in the state of Washington, we are paying special attention to that location, and our Seattle office in particular. Many Seattle Associates work in a multi-tenant, high-rise building and rely heavily on mass transit to get to the office, all of which expose them to large numbers of people. ..... also has limited control of sanitization of the Seattle office.
Many ..... Associates have job responsibilities that require them to physically work on a ..... or client location. However, due to the circumstances, the Associates in the Seattle office have been asked to make arrangements to work remotely until notified to return to the office. The safety and protection of our Associates is of utmost importance.
We are closely watching the infection rates in every city where we have offices. Your local management will let you know if the situation in your area changes.

Last Edited by Lost N Dying World on 03/02/2020 09:49 PM