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Companies Should Plan for Severe Swine Flu, U.S. Says (Update2)
By Tom Randall and Andrea Gerlin
Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Companies should prepare for a severe swine flu outbreak, with plans to send sick workers home and maintain essential operations when parents have to stay with their children, U.S. officials said.
Swine flu symptoms already have forced employees to miss at least a day of work at 72 percent of U.K. businesses, according to a survey published today by the London-based law firm Eversheds LLP. Almost four in 10 employers said they expect to lose revenue if the pandemic escalates, and 41 percent of the 429 companies surveyed had no contingency plans in place.
Employees should be encouraged to get the seasonal flu vaccine now and the pandemic vaccine once it?s available, according to guidelines released today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If the pandemic becomes more severe, businesses should plan to screen workers for flu-like symptoms, stagger shifts, and allow healthy employees to work from home.
?We already face much economic uncertainty, and a flu outbreak is a very scary prospect,? said Gary Locke, U.S. secretary of commerce, in a televised briefing today. ?The key is for every business to put in place plans to continue to operate with a severely reduced workforce. Each company, each business, each industry varies.?
The swine flu virus, also known as H1N1, has reached more than 170 countries and territories in the four months since being identified, the Geneva-based World Health Organization said. Swine flu causes similar symptoms as seasonal strains. It has so far resulted in ?slightly worse? than normal flu seasons, with increased hospitalizations and cases of severe illness, the WHO said in an Aug. 12 release.
?Feeling the Impact?
?Our research shows the majority of organizations are already feeling the impact of swine flu,? Martin Warren, head of employment law at London-based Eversheds, said today in an e- mail. ?All organizations should have a contingency plan in place which addresses the risk of swine flu and tackles business continuity issues should the virus take hold.?
Employees should stay home for at least 24 hours after they are free of fever or signs of fever, according to the new U.S. guidelines. People who have elevated risk of flu complications - - including pregnant women, children under 5 years old or over 64 years, and people with chronic medical conditions -- should get vaccinated early and take antiviral medications as soon as they get sick.
Employers should notify their workers that it?s important to stay home when they?re ill and explain company compensation and absentee policies, the guidelines say.
?In America we love to praise the Puritan work ethic, but this fall it would serve the country better to praise? work practices that help keep employees healthy and prevent the spread of flu, Locke said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Tom Randall in New York at trandall6@bloomberg.net; Andrea Gerlin in London at agerlin@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: August 19, 2009 13:02 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=avfpsDRrZlNI
By Tom Randall and Andrea Gerlin
Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Companies should prepare for a severe swine flu outbreak, with plans to send sick workers home and maintain essential operations when parents have to stay with their children, U.S. officials said.
Swine flu symptoms already have forced employees to miss at least a day of work at 72 percent of U.K. businesses, according to a survey published today by the London-based law firm Eversheds LLP. Almost four in 10 employers said they expect to lose revenue if the pandemic escalates, and 41 percent of the 429 companies surveyed had no contingency plans in place.
Employees should be encouraged to get the seasonal flu vaccine now and the pandemic vaccine once it?s available, according to guidelines released today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If the pandemic becomes more severe, businesses should plan to screen workers for flu-like symptoms, stagger shifts, and allow healthy employees to work from home.
?We already face much economic uncertainty, and a flu outbreak is a very scary prospect,? said Gary Locke, U.S. secretary of commerce, in a televised briefing today. ?The key is for every business to put in place plans to continue to operate with a severely reduced workforce. Each company, each business, each industry varies.?
The swine flu virus, also known as H1N1, has reached more than 170 countries and territories in the four months since being identified, the Geneva-based World Health Organization said. Swine flu causes similar symptoms as seasonal strains. It has so far resulted in ?slightly worse? than normal flu seasons, with increased hospitalizations and cases of severe illness, the WHO said in an Aug. 12 release.
?Feeling the Impact?
?Our research shows the majority of organizations are already feeling the impact of swine flu,? Martin Warren, head of employment law at London-based Eversheds, said today in an e- mail. ?All organizations should have a contingency plan in place which addresses the risk of swine flu and tackles business continuity issues should the virus take hold.?
Employees should stay home for at least 24 hours after they are free of fever or signs of fever, according to the new U.S. guidelines. People who have elevated risk of flu complications - - including pregnant women, children under 5 years old or over 64 years, and people with chronic medical conditions -- should get vaccinated early and take antiviral medications as soon as they get sick.
Employers should notify their workers that it?s important to stay home when they?re ill and explain company compensation and absentee policies, the guidelines say.
?In America we love to praise the Puritan work ethic, but this fall it would serve the country better to praise? work practices that help keep employees healthy and prevent the spread of flu, Locke said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Tom Randall in New York at trandall6@bloomberg.net; Andrea Gerlin in London at agerlin@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: August 19, 2009 13:02 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=avfpsDRrZlNI