2. Pandemic Planning for Small & Medium Businesses Winnipeg Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce October 14, 2009 Winnipeg, Manitoba

3. Session Agenda Introductions Pandemic Planning – Viola Labun 9 – 10 AM Information on Pandemics Pandemic Planning Process Break 20 min Human Resource Issues – Mike Cuma 10:20 to 11: 20 Questions & Answers 11:20 to 12:00

4. Pandemics What is an influenza pandemic? H1N1 Characteristics Economic Impacts of a pandemic Why Plan?

5. What is an influenza pandemic? Worldwide outbreak of a disease Fewer people are immune to it More people can get sick Spreads rapidly Occurs in waves

6. H1N1 Pandemic: Symptoms similar to seasonal flu Virus transmitted when droplets enter the nose, eyes or throat. - Range of airborne droplets is 2 meters (6 ft) Virus can rest on hard surfaces, be touched and then transmitted to the nose, eyes or mouth Symptoms include fever and cough and possibly – Fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, decreased appetite, runny nose, and sometimes vomiting, and diarrhea

7. BusinessFluPlan.ca What's the difference between Bird Flu and Swine Flu? For bird flu you need tweetment and for swine flu you need oinkment! What's the difference between Bird Flu and Swine Flu? For bird flu you need tweetment and for swine flu you need oinkment!

8. Economic Impacts Over $2 billion lost in Mexico due to H1N1 outbreak In Mexico, 2000 of the restaurants shut down during the H1N1 pandemic are now closed Canada lost over $1.5 billion due to SARS, 7,000 long term jobs lost in the Canada’s tourism industry

9. Why plan for a pandemic? To reduce the risk of business failure To provide a safer workplace To be ready for a number of possible scenarios (flexibility) To form part of a comprehensive business continuity plan

11. Getting Started Determine who is responsible for developing a pandemic plan? Determine who approves the plan?

12. Getting Started Determine: Who makes pandemic decisions during a pandemic and who is the backup? Who will monitor health or other government directives? Where will the pandemic plan be filed?

13. 6 Step Planning Process Step 1 – Assess the impact Step 2 – Operate the Business Step 3 – Human Resource Policies Step 4 – Protect Employees Step 5 – Communicate Step 6 – Recovery

14. Step 1 – Assess the impact What will happen to demand for your goods & services? At what point will employee absenteeism affect operations? How might a pandemic affect your supply chain?

15. Step 2 – Business Operations What are your core business functions? What staff positions are critical to “core” business functions?

16. Step 2 – Business Operations What are the critical supplies, services & equipment required to support core functions? If travel is not recommended, what alternatives are there? What other factors impact your business?

17. Step 2 – Business Operations What are the strategies or options that you could use during a pandemic?

18. Step 3 – Human Resource Policies Major Issue Sick Employees at Work Infecting Others Vs Lost Wages if They Stay Home

19. Step 3 – Human Resource Policies Sick Leave Policies? Sending Employees Home? Doctor’s Certificate?

20. Step 4 – Help Protect Employees Assess your risk given the amount of people to people contact? - High: considerable contact - Medium: some contact - Low: limited contact

21. Step 4 – Help to Protect Employees What can you do now? Educate yourself and your employees Proper hand washing Cough/Sneeze into tissue/arm Maintain a healthy life style Make hand sanitizers available Clean shared equipment Advise employees with flu-like symptoms to stay home

22. Step 4 – Help to Protect Employees What will you do during a pandemic? - Social distancing - Additional cleaning - Reduce travel

23. Step 5 – Communicate Who is responsible for communicating? How and what will you communicate as you are planning? - Employees - Customers

24. Step 5 – Communicate How & what will you communicate during a pandemic? Employees Customers Suppliers Communication Channels - employee meetings, bulletin boards, intranet, e-mail, etc.

25. Step 6 - Recovery What steps are needed to resume normal operations? How will you respond to the impact of the pandemic on employees? What are the lessons learned?

27. Selected Health Questions Q: How long does the H1N1 virus live outside the body? A:24 – 48 hours on hard surface, but will only infect a person within to 2 – 8 hours 8 – 12 hours on soft surface, will infect a person for up to a few minutes

28. Selected Health Questions Q:Do I need special cleaning agents? A:No, use the cleaning agents you use now.

29. Selected Health Questions Q: Is the use of face masks recommended? A: Masks have not shown to reduce the risk of infection other than in a very high risk situation where care of sick people takes place.

30. Q: How do I know what my responsibilities are regarding a safe workplace? A: Responsible for: Overall safety & well- being of employees and others in the workplace. Selected Business Questions

31. A: Responsible for: Protecting employees & others from reasonable & foreseeable hazards in the workplace. See Workplace Health & Safety Acts/ Regulations in your province Selected Business Questions

33. Templates (WORD & EXCEL) Employee contact lists Customer lists Supplier lists Fan out lists

34. Links to Other Web Sites Public Health Agency of Canada www.fightflu.ca www.fightflu.ca Provincial Health Departments Provincial Workplace Safety Web Sites Other