The coronavirus outbreak continues to spread far and wide with over 90,000 cases reported worldwide, and 28 cases in India so far (of which three patients from Kerala have recovered). Amidst the scare, companies worldwide have started cancelling scheduled events in view of the outbreak and have been issuing advisories to its employees.
Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi and Realme on Tuesday announced the cancellation of their product launch events in India this month. While Xiaomi was set to launch a new Redmi Note series on March 12, Realme was set to showcase Realme 6 and 6 Pro series on March 5.
Both the events are now 'digital-only' events, where people can watch the live stream on social media channels and on their websites.
On Wednesday, offices in Hyderabad’s Raheja Mindspace tech park were evacuated following a government press release, which stated there were was one positive case and a suspected case of coronavirus.
In view of the prevailing situation, companies have started putting out advisories for their employees and precautions that should be followed.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which has over 4 lakh employees across the globe, has said that it is working closely with all relevant local, regional and global health institutions. It has also implemented work-from-home and imposed travel restrictions across some countries in the Asia Pacific and specifically in Italy.
“We are working closely with all the relevant local, regional and global, health institutions and are implementing the latest recommendations given to us. In addition, we are also working closely with our clients to coordinate any measures in this situation.”
Tata Motors has issued an advisory to its employees, reminding them to practice and promote habits that can help prevent the spread of infection, which includes frequent handwashing with soap, avoiding crowded public spaces, seeking doctor’s opinion on developing flu-like symptoms, staying home when suffering from flu, etc. A company spokesperson added, “Employees were asked to avoid travelling to countries that have reported a hotspot and review plans to invite/host visitors from these countries.”
Hindustan Unilever (HUL) said that they have advised its employees to avoid all travel to China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Italy, Iran. Unilever CEO Alan Jope also issued a recorded message on the overall perspective and how it is affecting various Unilever markets.
“We have ramped up our cleaning efforts in office and placed hand sanitisers in our office corridors. We have shared awareness posters and information with all employees on the coronavirus on how it spreads and what an employee can do with respect to cough etiquette and hand hygiene measures. We are equipped with N-95 masks for people at the forefront in factories, distribution centres, etc,” the company spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Wipro has suspended travel to and transit through mainland China, including Hong Kong and Macau, until further notice. Employees have also been advised to avoid non-critical travel to Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Italy.
“Any employee who travelled to an affected area within China in the last few days has been asked to work from home for 14 days. We have advised our employees to be vigilant, especially those based in China and those who have visited the country recently,” the company said in a statement.
While declaring that Wipro does not have any employees in Wuhan province, the statement added, “We have enabled a significant number of employees based in China to work from home and have also requested them to be on self-quarantine in case they or their family members show any symptoms. We have also taken all necessary measures at our offices there, including thermal screening, surgical masks and frequent sanitisation of premises.”
Adhering to the World Health Organisation (WHO) directives, office sanitisation, masks, hand rubs are in place. “We have been regularly issuing advisories detailing the hygiene and preventive measures and have requested employees who experience flu-like symptoms to immediately contact authorised medical centres and abstain from work until recovery.”
The company further added that it has formed cross-functional local and central teams to closely monitor and assess the evolving situation and decide the next course of action.
A Cognizant spokesperson said, “We take the health and wellness of our employees very seriously. We are encouraging associates to work from home and seek medical attention if they experience flu-like symptoms and have suspended all travel to the most affected countries and all non-essential travel to other high-risk destinations. We have increased access to antibacterial hand sanitisers in high-traffic and common areas and continue to share useful information about the outbreak and tips on staying healthy.”
The spokesperson added that the organisation has been maintaining a high level of business continuity preparedness and closely monitoring the situation.
With inputs from Shilpa Ranipeta