Tips for Techies to keep Coronavirus at Bay

The impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) is no different on the Tech industry. Techies are also equally and adversely affected by the global outbreak of nCov. Numerous Product launches have been postponed, dissenting the growth charts of these companies.

‍

HR departments have sent out advisories encouraging their liveware to work from home while restricting their travel to affected countries. Though a handful, but few enterprises have been compelled to shut shop completely.

‍

In this daunting situation, everyone wants to safeguard themselves and their families from the outreach of the virus. Several messages are doing the rounds on social media and out of sheer anxiety people are queuing up to hoard masks, sanitisers, antiseptics and other essentials.

‍

With coronavirus threatening to wreak havoc, UserExperior breaks some popular myths. We recommend these precautionary measures which might come handy to keep yourself at an arm’s length from the scourge of the virus at your workplace and in general.   

‍

How COVID-19 spreads 

When someone who has contracted COVID-19 coughs or exhales they release droplets of infected fluid, these droplets fall on nearby surfaces and objects – such as desks, tables and paperwork. COVID-19 can be contracted by touching such contaminated surfaces or objects – and then touching their eyes, nose, mouth or eating.

‍

People standing within one meter of a person with COVID-19 stand a chance of infection by breathing in droplets coughed out or exhaled by them. COVID-19 spreads in a similar way like flu does. Most persons infected with COVID-19 experience mild symptoms and recover.

‍

However, some go on to experience serious illness and may require hospital care. Risk of serious illness rises with age: people over 40 seem to be more vulnerable than those under 40. People with weakened immune systems and people with conditions such as diabetes, heart and lung disease are more prone to serious illness.

‍

How to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in your workplace 

These practices should be adopted at the workplace even if COVID-19 has not detected in the communities where you operate. Smart practices like these can help reduce loss of man hours due to the infection and curb the spread of COVID-19 if it arrives at one of your workplaces.

‍

‍

• Maintain cleanliness and hygiene at your workplace. Use disinfectants and antiseptics for cleaning surfaces like doorknobs, switches, handles, computers, telephones, bathroom sinks, toilets, counters, other surfaces that are commonly touched in and around your place of work.

• Maintain regular hygiene by promoting the employees and clients to thoroughly wash their hands. Make sanitizing hand rub dispensers freely available at all prominent places around your workplace. Make sure these dispensers are regularly refilled.

• Conduct awareness sessions pertaining to occupational health by safety officers, briefings at meetings and information on the intranet to promote hand-washing. Ensure that employees and visitors have access to places where they can wash their hands with soap and water.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth as much as possible.

• Promote good respiratory hygiene at your workplace. Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then dispose of the tissue safely.

• Social distance – Maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance from everyone, even if the person is not coughing or sneezing.

• If you have fever, cough or difficulty in breathing, seek medical assistance immediately without any hesitation.

• Wearing a mask is not necessary unless you are taking care of an infected person. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that only infected people wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus.

• If business travel is scheduled, Keep in mind the travel advisory set out by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

• If possible working remotely and collaborating with teams through video conferencing and telecommuting should  be recommended. Tech giants such as  Amazon and Facebook joined Microsoft Corp in recommending their  employees in Seattle to work from home. 

‍

Up till now, all efforts set in motion to develop a vaccine in order to prevent or curtail the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been ineffective. In the light of this fact, prevention appears to be the best cure.