Now that cold and flu season has wound down, it’s important for employers to prepare for the upcoming season, including a possible pandemic.
“This is a good time to look at things and dust off your pandemic plan,” says Dr. Alain Sotto, chief physician with Ontario Power Generation.
There have been numerous cases of H7N9, a strain of bird flu, which is being spread from animals to humans. Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said there were 131 confirmed cases of human infection and 32 deaths in China and Taipei. While there is no evidence of cases being spread by human-to-human transmission, there’s always a possibility that the virus could mutate.
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A novel coronavirus (nCoV), similar to SARS, has also been detected in the Middle East and Europe. Since September, the WHO has been informed of 40 laboratory-confirmed cases, including 20 deaths in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar.
While Sotto says employers shouldn’t panic, they should plan ahead since their biggest asset is human capital, and people who work together are often in close contact with one another.
The Public Health Agency of Canada has more information about pandemic preparedness on its website.
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