UK firmade ettevalmistused pandeemiaks
lühidalt eesti keeles: UK firmad valmistuvad pandeemiaks ja teevad oma hädaolukorra-plaane. Suurematest firmadest on 80% pandeemiaplaan olemas, arvestusega, et töötajatest puudub 25%.
Huvitav kui suurel osal Eesti firmadest on olemas Oma Pandeemiaplaan? :D
Peamiseks kavaks on kõik töötajad, kel võimalik, panna töötama kodust, kasutades internetti ja videokonverentsi (mis töötab muidugi vaid niikaua, kuni seisab püsti internet), klienditeenindajatele anda isikukaitsevahendid ning tõhustada hügieeniprotseduure.
Work at home or go abroad if bird flu hits
David Harrison, Catherine Humble and Adam Stones
(Filed: 15/01/2006)
Thousands of employees will be told to work from home if Britain is hit by a bird flu pandemic.
.. Up to 25 per cent of the population is expected to be infected by the virus if - as scientists predict - it arrives in Britain in a form that can be passed from human to human, according to the World Health Organisation.
Companies are drawing up emergency plans to reduce or cope with the loss of one in four workers. One expert warned that some could see their entire staff wiped out by the virus.
Vodafone, Norwich Union and the accountancy firms PriceWaterhouseCoopers and KPMG say they would make arrangements for staff to work from home. Some workplace meetings would be replaced by video conference calls.
A senior executive for Vodafone, which employs more than 13,000 in Britain, said: "Bird flu is a real threat and we are taking it seriously. Working from home means that people will be at less risk from getting the virus and could play a crucial role in keeping our business going."
.. Last week the World Health Organisation warned that the arrival of bird flu in Britain was "inevitable and possibly imminent".
The Sunday Telegraph surveyed dozens of large UK companies and found that more than 80 per cent had made emergency plans - including Asda, Tesco, Royal Mail, O2, Natwest and Ford. Most firms said they were basing preparations on projections that 25 per cent of the population could be infected by the virus.
A 25 per cent loss of staff would cut Britain's 28.8 million working population by 7.2 million - with devastating consequences for the economy. "If we don't prepare properly then the country could be plunged into an economic crisis," one analyst said.
British Airways is already carrying "disease packs" containing face masks, gloves and goggles which will be given to all passengers should the virus - which has killed 78 people since 2003 - become contagious among humans. A BA spokesman said: "We could lose a quarter of our employees and a quarter of our passengers. We have to be ready."
Scientists say it is only a matter of time before the H5N1 strain mutates into a form that can spread from person to person.
.. Bupa, the private health company, said that 30 per cent of the firms it insured had asked for stocks of Tamiflu for their staff but it had so far been unable to satisfy demand. Many clients had also asked to be supplied with face masks.
.. Employers are being urged to raise hygiene standards. John Lewis is planning to introduce alcohol-based handwashes for staff and customers inside their stores and anti-viral mats at the entrances.