While the CDC’s current COVID-19 public health risk has been assessed as low for the general American public, we wanted to provide you with some information you can pass along to your employees.

Please see the below links for current information regarding the outbreak.

Helpful Resources

• CDC – COVID-19 Overview
• U.S. Department of State Travel Information
• WHO – COVID-19 Overview
• Johns Hopkins Interactive Map

Best Practices for Protecting Yourself and Your Team

The best way to prevent illness is to avoid exposure to this virus. The CDC recommends everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases, including:

 Stay home if you experience flu-like symptoms, have suspected contact with someone infected, or traveled to a CDC Warning Level 1, 2, or 3 country.

• Avoid close contact with sick people and practice Social Distancing – keeping appropriate space between yourself and others and avoiding large crowds.
• When you touch your desk, computer, phone, mouse, and face, become conscious of your touches. Once aware of it, you will notice how often you must wash or sanitize your hands. Hand washing should be done with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and you should try to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Replace handshake with an alternative greeting (elbow bump, etc.).
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

Adapt the Way We Do Business to Minimize Interruption

•  Assess whether travel plans are mission-critical or objectives can be achieved via video conference. Avoid all travel to high-risk areas as identified on the CDC website.
• Plan Ahead. Determine your team’s workload over the coming weeks and plan how to get the job done if certain employees cannot perform work functions due to illness or quarantine.
• Ensure you have everything you need to be productive remotely in case of a business interruption –access to the shared drive, video conferencing programs installed, computer chargers at home, etc.
• Prepare employees to be productive from home, especially if they haven’t had significant experience working remotely. Establish a reporting framework (recurring calls, video conferences, etc.) to manage a remote workforce successfully.