As you may already know, the new disease called COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) has been causing global panic. Over a few days, the confirmed cases worldwide has reached hundreds of thousands and the number still keeps growing. There have also been several confirmed cases in New Zealand. Therefore, it’s only important for Kiwi workplaces to have policies that would prevent the further spread of this disease.

So, you may ask, what does this have to do with asbestos? While we are not alarmed given the already dangerous nature of the industry we’re in, it clearly made us do a rain check on what we’ve been doing about employee and workplace safety. We never anticipated how such a disease can possibly impact output on many fronts, albeit indirectly. We’d like to share with you a few adjustments we made to our operations to accommodate this ongoing event. 

Keeping our staff safe

The Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) 2015 stipulates that businesses have the primary responsibility for the health and safety of their workers and any other workers they influence or direct. They are also responsible for the health and safety of people at risk from the work of their business.

At Chemcare, we understand that minimising the spread of this disease is also vital aside from the regular things we already do to secure the health and safety of our workers while at work. This is why we are committed to follow and cooperate with the health and safety procedures and instructions from the Ministry of Health.

How we work towards prevention

We have communicated to our people the following steps to protect themselves and others against viruses like COVID-19:

• Avoiding close contact with people with colds or flu-like symptoms

• Covering their nose or mouth when coughing or sneezing

• Disposing of tissues immediately after use

• Regular and thorough handwashing for at least 20 seconds before handling food, after using the bathroom, and after coughing, sneezing and blowing the nose

• Practising overall good hygiene

• Self-isolation for those who may have been exposed

Personnel including employees and contractors who display or might display any of the COVID-19 symptoms have been advised to stay indoors and avoid contact with other people.

How we keep the workplace safe

Our first line of defence against a disease like this, aside from education, is prevention. Keeping the workplace safe and disease-free involves taking simple and actionable measures that will minimise the risk of infection.

Immunisations

Providing seasonal flu vaccines to workers is a sure-fire way to help protect staff and maintain productivity in the workplace. You do not only avoid getting sick, but also avoid spreading it to the people around you.

Personal protective gear (PPE)

Asbestos workers like the team at Chemcare know this all too well. Wearing the appropriate gear is extremely important in the asbestos industry. It’s also the same when it comes to facing the coronavirus threat, particularly in industries that deal with those affected directly such as workers in the health care sector.

Elevated cleaning in the workplace

Regular cleaning in the workplace can help minimise the spread of infection. Thorough cleaning and disinfecting will go a long way. Most of our staff already understand this given the nature of our job but emphasising the importance of keeping a clean workspace should be good from time to time.

Common sense

Encourage employees to follow basic personal hygiene steps like washing hands, covering your nose when you sneeze, staying at home when you don’t feel well, and so on.

The bottomline

The bottomline is, everyone is assuming that it’s only a matter of time before other industries within the New Zealand business sector feel the effects of COVID-19. The coronavirus is already affecting everything — travel, schools, work environments are changing. As people become infected, sick, or quarantined, the labour force can also get affected immensely.

The next best thing to do now is to review documentation, guidelines, and processes to learn which rights and obligations must be met by contractors and property owners, and maybe extend a little extra flexibility when needed.

Learn more about how the HSWA of 2015 can be applied to your industry via the WorkSafe New Zealand website and find useful information on workplace infectious disease prevention through the Ministry of Health.