3. Pandemic Contingency Planning for Infrastructure Providers
3.1 Short, Medium and Long-Term Planning
It is not possible to predict how long a pandemic may last. There could be more than one wave of infection during a pandemic period. Each wave could typically last about 8 weeks, building to a peak in week 4 before abating again. MoH advises that businesses should plan for up to 50% staff absences for periods of about two weeks at the height of a pandemic wave and lower levels of staff absence for a few weeks either side of the peak.13 It may be helpful to consider planning scenarios developed by MoH (Appendix 2) when preparing your plan.
To ensure business continuity in a pandemic, short term planning, with a health focus, is paramount. Succession planning (in the event of staff deaths or long-term disability during the pandemic) and back up planning is also essential. Emergency management and overall national recovery is greatly facilitated if essential services are available without significant interruption.
Continuity planning for a pandemic should include:
- Identification of essential business activities (and the core people and skills to keep them running), and ensuring that these are backed-up with alternative arrangements;
- Mitigation of business/economic disruptions, including possible shortages of supplies; and
- Minimising illness in workers and customers.
Each of these items are addressed in a separate section in the following pages.
3.1.1 Influenza Manager
When planning for a pandemic, it is a good idea to identify one or more people in your organisation who will be responsible for workplace health and safety. Some of the tasks the "Influenza Manager(s)" may perform include:
- Setting up a system to monitor staff who are ill or suspected to be ill in the event of a pandemic, including contacting staff who are unexpectedly absent from work - has their GP been notified of their illness? Have "contact" issues been addressed? Is someone able to care for them?
- Setting up a process to facilitate/encourage the return of staff to work once they are better or at the end of a quarantine period; and
- Ensuring that your workplace has adequate supplies of tissues, medical and hand hygiene products, cleaning supplies and masks for people who become ill at work. It may be difficult to purchase such products once a pandemic begins.
3.1.2 Medical Advisor
If your business does not already have one, it may be prudent to ensure that you have access to a medical practitioner for assistance and advice in the event of a pandemic. The Department of Labour has a medical practitioner assigned to each of their regional offices (see Contact Your Nearest OSH Regional Office ). Most of these practitioners operate on a part-time basis. If the practitioner is unable to fulfil the desired role for your organisation, they should be able to recommend another medical practitioner who could.
3.1.3 Activation of Pandemic Continuity Plan
MoH will widely publicise any changes to the "alert codes" which are designed to alert government agencies to action, and may signify the need to activate business continuity plans. MED will endeavour to keep infrastructure providers informed of these changes.
Table 3 below provides summary guidance as to how a business might proceed as different stages of a pandemic are reached.
Table 3 Suggested Summary Actions for Infrastructure Providers for each Alert Code
| Stage |
New Zealand Strategy |
MoH/DHB Alert Code |
Suggested Infrastructure Provider Actions |
| 1 |
Plan for it
(Planning) |
White
(Information/advisory) |
Review business continuity plans:
- Identify essential services (including contractors), facilities/plants, other production inputs
- Plan for up to 50% staff absences for periods of 2-3 weeks at the height of the pandemic, and lower levels of staff absences for a few weeks on either side of the pandemic
- Assess core staff and skill requirement needs, and ensure essential positions are backed-up by an alternative staff member
- Identify ways to increase "social distancing" in the workplace, reduce movement etc.
- Consider organisational policies to encourage the sick to stay at home; and enable staff to work from home
|
Yellow
(Standby) |
- Identify ways to minimise illness amongst staff and customers, and consider how essential messages (e.g. basic hygiene) can be communicated to staff
- Identify needs for PPE and cleaning equipment, and check air conditioning. Purchase additional contingency supplies.
- Discuss particular pandemic planning needs with regional CDEM groups
|
| 2 |
Keep it out
(Border Management) |
Red14
(Activation) |
- Alert staff to change in pandemic status
- Activate staff overseas travel restrictions
- Review/test essential business continuity measures
|
| 3 |
Stamp it out
(Cluster Control) |
- Alert staff to change in pandemic status
- Activate essential business continuity measures
- Activate measures to minimise introduction and/or spread of influenza in work place (post notices; social distancing, managing ill staff members, workplace cleaning, etc.)
- Communicate with staff to promote confidence in the workplace
- Activate contact tracing where staff become ill at work during Cluster Control phase
- Activate process for recovered/well staff members to return to work
|
| 4 |
Manage it
(Pandemic Management) |
| 5 |
Recover from it
(Recovery) |
Green
(Stand down) |
- Manage return to business as normal
|
3.1 4 Communication with Staff
It is likely there will be anxiety regarding a pandemic and this is likely to contribute to increased work absence and/or increased distress to staff. The suggested ways to manage this include:
- Communicate the possibility of a pandemic - and your organisation's preparedness to manage it - very early to staff. Helpful to this purpose is the influenza fact sheet, available from Pandemic Influenza ;
- Discuss with staff possible health and safety issues, potential for stand down, and leave arrangements if they are ill or need to look after those who are or who have been "shut out" of childcare and school, etc;
- Have a comprehensive management plan in place which is clearly communicated to staff. Ensure that communications management during the pandemic is part of the plan. It will be important to have systems in place to allow your agency to communicate in a pandemic;
- In activating your plan, provide clear, timely and pro-active communications to staff, including how your organisation is handling the situation; and
- You may wish to establish a "communications tree" so that people can keep in touch.
3.2 How Will Essential Business Activities Be Maintained?
In the event of a pandemic, it is important that core people and core skills are available to keep essential parts of your business operating. The following points are designed to help you to plan for this.
3.2.1 Identification of Core People and Core Skills
Issues you may wish to consider include:
- What are the "essential" parts of the business?
- Who are the core people required to keep the essential parts of the business running?
- What are the core skills required to keep business running?
- Are there sufficient back ups for people and skills if there is a high level of absence? Are there other resources (e.g. volunteers, retirees) that could be drawn on if necessary? Is it possible to co-ordinate/operate your business through a "virtual war-room" - that is, remotely, using telephone and email?
- Who are the core people required to manage the pandemic contingency plan?
- Do you have any systems which rely on periodic physical intervention by key individuals, to keep them going? How long would the system last without attention?
Once the core people and skills are identified, ensure that they are aware of their position and how they will be managed in the event of a pandemic. Consider strategies for minimising the possibility that they become ill with influenza: e.g. working from home even in very early stages of a pandemic, or other social distancing measures.
If working from home is not a well-established practice in your organisation, you may wish to encourage staff to "give it a go", say once a fortnight, to aid familiarity and to "iron out" any computer connection/technological issues.
You may wish to have non-essential staff "stand down" (with appropriate pay arrangements) in the Code Red phase to help minimise the number of staff who may be exposed to the influenza virus.
In the event of a pandemic, employees have the option of leaving their jobs. They also have the right to refuse to perform work if they believe it is likely to lead to their suffering serious harm. However, their belief must be on reasonable grounds, and they must have attempted to resolve the matter with their employer before they can continue to refuse. The right to refuse unsafe work does not apply unless the understood risks of the work have materially increased. To avoid such situations, it is best to have had discussions with staff prior to any pandemic occurring.
3.2.2 Business Planning for Absence
Issues you may wish to consider include
- What are critical staff numbers and skills required to keep essential sectors of the business running - at what level does business stop? What arrangements need to be made to minimise risk to staff?
- Who should make the decision to shut activity down when absence rates threaten safe business continuity?
- Could some, or all, of your business operations shift to having most staff work from home with little warning?
The pandemic influenza may affect regions of New Zealand and the world differently in terms of timing, severity and duration. Some regions may be hit earlier, longer or harder. Businesses with regional offices may need to consider rotating service delivery from hard hit areas to influenza-free areas, or areas that have been declared to be in a post-pandemic period. Restrictions on movement of people from region to region may be imposed, and rotation of staff may therefore be difficult.
Businesses with overseas offices, or which use services outsourced from overseas (e.g. call centres), may be disproportionately affected. Not all countries have the means to cope with a pandemic. Employees and staff contracted outside of New Zealand may have increased rates of illness and absence.
3.2.3 Knowledge Management
Key operating and emergency management information will need to be stored in known, accessible and shared locations.
3.2.4 Communications
Consider communication needs and how they might be maintained with:
- other business units in your organisation;
- government;
- key suppliers;
- key customers; and
- key contractors.
3.3 How Might Shortages of Supplies Affect Business Operations?
Shortages of supplies may occur because of increased demand during the pandemic (i.e. cleaning supplies, home based services). Pandemic planning should consider the need for ensuring adequate availability of essential supplies.
Shortages may also occur because of disruptions in transportation systems or inability of suppliers to meet demands because of their own staff shortages. Some New Zealand supplies travel considerable distances by truck, train, ship or aircraft, and are vulnerable to any disruption. Absences of workers/drivers and other transportation staff may affect both the production and delivery of needed supplies. Supply lines may also be affected by mandated or self-imposed travel restrictions (e.g. transporters unwilling to travel through or to infected areas). Discuss with key suppliers a plan for regular shipments in the event of shortages or disruptions in transportation systems.
International air movements may be disrupted in a pandemic, and this may impact on imported goods, especially if they normally arrive in freight-holds of passenger aircraft.
3.4 How Can We Protect Staff and Visitors from Getting Sick?
After identifying the core people and skills to keep the essential parts of your business operating, your pandemic plan should consider how to minimise illness among staff and visitors. The main strategies include:
- Restrict workplace entry of people with influenza symptoms;
- Practice good personal hygiene and workplace cleaning habits;
- Increase social distancing (e.g. enable tele-working, avoid face-to-face contact);
- Manage staff who become ill at work; and
- Manage staff that travel overseas.
This section identifies some issues you may want to take into account in your plan as well as offering guidance as to how to address them. In addition, examples of notices, fact sheets, etc. are provided for your convenience - these are marked in the text with the symbol (‡).
Adopting the advice included in this section, with particular attention to protection measures summarised in Table 4, should assist employers with compliance with the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.
Table 4 Summary of Influenza Protection Measures
| Protection measure |
Where applicable |
| Hand hygiene, cough etiquette, ventilation |
Everyone, all the time |
| Organisational policies |
Every organisation, all the time |
| Social distancing |
Everyone, whenever practical |
| Protective barriers |
In situations where regular work practice requires unavoidable, relatively close contact with the public |
| Disposable surgical mask |
Workers in any community or health care setting who are caring for the sick (this includes first responders)
Also as a possible adjunct to protective barriers |
| Disposable particulate respirator masks, eye protection, gloves, gowns/aprons |
Health care workers participating directly in close contact patient care when there is a high risk of contact with respiratory secretions, particularly via aerosols (mostly inpatient settings). |
3.4.1 Restrict Workplace Entry of People with Influenza Symptoms
On declaration of Code Red, your business should consider putting up notices (‡) at all workplace/facility entry points, advising staff and visitors not to enter if they have influenza symptoms.
Employees should be advised not to come to work when they are feeling unwell, particularly if they are exhibiting any influenza symptoms. It may be helpful to inform staff of the differences in symptoms between influenza and a common cold (‡). Unwell employees should also be advised to see a doctor. Workers who are ill should stay at home until symptoms resolve.
Use normal communication methods to ensure that all staff receives the notice. At the same time, you may wish to provide them with further information about how to stay well during an influenza pandemic, e.g. by distributing the MoH fact sheet (available from Pandemic Influenza ).
In your pandemic planning, set up a process for ensuring that ill employees have completed any required quarantine period and are healthy before allowing them to return to work.
Note that staff who have recovered from the pandemic influenza are unlikely to be re-infected (they will have natural immunity) and should be encouraged to return to work as soon as they are well.
Influenza Notification
→ Influenza Notification [31 KB GIF]
→ Text Version of "Influenza Notification" Graphic
Example Fact Sheet - What is the Difference between Influenza and a Common Cold?
| Symptom |
Influenza |
Common Cold |
| Fever |
Usual, sudden onset 38°C-40°C and lasts 3-4 days |
Rare |
| Headache |
Usual and can be severe |
Rare |
| Aches and pains |
Usual and can be severe |
Rare |
| Fatigue and weakness |
Usual and can last 2-3 weeks or more after the acute illness |
Sometimes, but mild |
| Debilitating fatigue |
Usual, early onset can be severe |
Rare |
| Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea |
In children <5 years old |
Rare |
| Watering of the eyes |
Rare |
Usual |
| Runny, stuffy nose |
Rare |
Usual |
| Sneezing |
Rare in early stages |
Usual |
| Sore throat |
Usual |
Usual |
| Chest discomfort |
Usual and can be severe |
Sometimes, but mild to moderate |
| Complications |
- Respiratory failure
- Can worsen a current chronic condition
- Can be life threatening
|
Congestion or ear-ache |
| Fatalities |
Well recognised |
Not reported |
| Prevention |
- Influenza vaccine
- Frequent hand-washing
- Cover your cough
|
- Frequent hand-washing
- Cover your cough
|
3.4.2 Personal Hygiene
Basic personal hygiene measures should be reinforced and people should be encouraged to practice them to minimise potential influenza transmission:
- Cover nose and mouth when sneezing and coughing (preferably with a disposable single use tissue);
- Immediately dispose of used tissues;
- Adopt good handwashing/hand hygiene practices, particularly after coughing, sneezing or using tissues; and
- Keep hands away from the mucous membranes of the eyes, mouth, and nose.
Ensure that adequate supplies of hand hygiene products are available. This is a high planning priority as there may be interruption to the supply or shortages of soap and hand towels.
Communicate hand and personal hygiene information to staff and visitors:
- Hygiene notices (‡) should be posted in all workplace entrances, washrooms, hand washing stations and public areas; and
- Use brochures, newsletters, global emails, employee notice boards, and information included with payslips, to inform your employees of the importance of hand hygiene and environmental cleaning during a pandemic.
Examples of notices can be found below. Another good source of notices and brochures is Influenza - Information for Employers .
Example Hygiene Notices
Basic Hygiene Notice
Protecting Yourself and Others against Respiratory Illness
→ Protecting Yourself and Others against Respiratory Illness [23 KB GIF]
→ Text Version of "Protecting Yourself and Others against Respiratory Illness" Graphic
Hand Hygiene Notices
Hand Hygiene with Soap and Water
→ Text Version of "Hand Hygiene with Soap and Water" Graphic
Source: Vancouver Coastal Health's Regional Pandemic Influenza Response Plan
Hand Hygiene with Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitiser
→ Text Version of "Hand Hygiene with Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitiser" Graphic
Source: Vancouver Coastal Health's Regional Pandemic Influenza Response Plan
3.4.3 Workplace Cleaning
During a pandemic, you will need to implement additional measures to minimise the transmission of the virus through environmental sources, particularly hard surfaces (e.g. sinks, handles, railings, objects and counters). Transmission from contaminated hard surfaces is unlikely but influenza viruses may live up to two days on such surfaces.
Influenza viruses are inactivated by alcohol and by chlorine. Cleaning of environmental surfaces with a neutral detergent followed by a disinfectant solution is recommended. Surfaces that are frequently touched with hands should be cleaned often, preferably daily. Table 5 suggests the appropriate choice and concentration of disinfectants:
Table 5 Workplace Cleaning Products
| Disinfectants |
Recommended use |
Precautions |
Sodium hypochlorite:
1000 parts per million of available chlorine, usually achieved by a 1 in 5 dilution of hospital grade bleach. |
Disinfection of material contaminated with blood and body fluids. |
- Should be used in well-ventilated areas
- Protective clothing required while handling and using undiluted bleach
- Do not mix with strong acids to avoid release of chlorine gas
- Corrosive to metals
|
Granular chlorine:
e.g. Det-Sol 5000 or Diversol, to be diluted as per manufacturer's instructions. |
May be used in place of liquid bleach, if it is unavailable. |
|
Alcohol:
e.g. Isopropyl 70%, ethyl alcohol 60%. |
Smooth metal surfaces, tabletops and other surfaces on which bleach cannot be used. |
- Flammable and toxic
- To be used in well-ventilated areas Avoid inhalation
- Keep away from heat sources, electrical equipment, flames, and hot surfaces
- Allow it to dry completely, particularly when using diathermy, as this can cause diathermy burns
|
Staff should be reminded not to share cups, dishes, and cutlery and ensure they are thoroughly washed with soap and hot water after use.
Remove all magazines/papers from waiting rooms and common areas (such as tea rooms, kitchens).
When a person with suspected influenza is identified and has left the workplace, it is important that their work area/office, along with any other known places they have been, are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.
Among other things, planning should identify the basic hygiene practices (including hand hygiene) to be followed by cleaners, protocols for the use personal protection equipment (if recommended by MoH); and methods for waste disposal.
3.4.4 Air Conditioning
There is scientific and medical evidence that influenza can spread in inadequately ventilated internal spaces. MoH and the Department of Labour recommend all internal spaces should be well ventilated, preferably by fresh air via opening windows, or otherwise by properly designed and maintained air-conditioning systems.
As part of their workplace health and safety monitoring, employers should gain assurance from the owner of any air conditioned building they occupy that air conditioning systems are maintained regularly and to the appropriate standard, as per the New Zealand Building Code, Clause G4, Ventilation.
Source: Pandemic Influenza , 23 August 2005
3.4.5 Increase Social Distancing
Another strategy to protect staff is minimising their contact with others. Crowded places and large gatherings of people should be avoided, whether in internal or external spaces.
A distance of at least one metre should be maintained between persons wherever practical. Larger distances are more effective.
Visiting of, or other contact with, unwell people should be avoided wherever practicable.
Suggestions on how to minimise contact include:
- Avoid meeting people face to face - use the telephone, video conferencing and the internet to conduct business as much as possible - even when participants are in the same building;
- Avoid any unnecessary travel and cancel or postpone non-essential meetings/gatherings/workshops/training sessions;
- If possible, arrange for employees to work from home or work variable hours to avoid crowding at the workplace;
- Practice "ghost" shift changes wherever possible, with the shift going off duty leaving the workplace before the new shift enters. If possible, leave an interval before re-occupation of the workplace. If possible, thoroughly ventilate the workplace between shifts by opening doors and windows or turning up the air-conditioning.
- Avoid public transport: walk, cycle, drive a car or go early or late to avoid rush hour crowding on public transport;
- Bring lunch and eat at desk or away from others (avoid the cafeteria and crowded restaurants). Introduce staggered lunchtimes so numbers of people in the lunch room are reduced;
- Do not congregate in tearooms or other areas where people socialise. Do what needs to be done and then leave the area;
- If a face-to-face meeting with people is unavoidable, minimise the meeting time, choose a large meeting room and sit at least one meter away from each other if possible; avoid shaking hands or hugging. Consider holding meetings in the open air;
- Set up systems where clients/customers can pre-order/request information via phone/email/fax and have order/information ready for fast pick-up or delivery; and
- Encourage staff to avoid recreational or other leisure classes/meetings etc. where they might come into contact with infectious people.
3.5 Managing Staff Who Become Ill at Work
Your pandemic plan should indicate how your business will manage staff that become ill at work. One possible process is outlined below: you may wish to modify it to suit your business situation. A screening flowchart (‡) is also presented. Note that this advice is current as at October 2005. In the event of a pandemic, it is recommended that employers check Pandemic Influenza for the latest advice.
If a person feels ill, or if someone observes that another person is exhibiting symptoms of influenza at work, they are to contact the "Influenza Manager" by telephone if at all possible.
Using a screening flowchart (‡), the Influenza Manager:
- Should avoid visiting this person if it can be avoided - manage the process over the phone;
- Check if the employee has any of the symptoms outlined in the first section of the flowchart;
- If the employee does not have any symptoms like those listed, they are very unlikely to have influenza, and should be reassured but advised to call the Influenza Manager again later or to see their GP if they are still concerned;
- If the employee does have symptoms that match some of those listed, they should be treated as a "suspect case." It may be helpful to have a staff influenza notification form (‡) completed, including details of any staff and/or visitors they have been in contact with. This information will permit the Influenza Manager to identify recent movements and monitor well-being during the pandemic;
- The employee should be informed where they can find a surgical mask and instructed to wear it immediately. This is to help protect other staff;
- The employee should leave work and immediately contact a health professional in the manner advised by MoH on its website at that time. This may involve phoning the person's normal doctor or nurse, or a specially designated centre to seek further advice. The employee's manager should be informed that they have left work;
- The employee, should, if at all possible, avoid public transport when leaving work.
- Contact management (see section 3.6 below for further information) - it is helpful for employers to:
- identify contacts (once an employee is suspected to be infected);
- advise contacts in person that they have been in contact with a person suspected of having influenza;
- Ask contacts to go home, and stay at home until advised otherwise;
- The employee's work station should be cleaned and disinfected, as indicated in section 3.4.3 (Workplace Cleaning).
- Your business/Influenza Manager will need to set up a system to manage the absence and return to work of the employee and their contacts. Some issues to consider include:
- Advice to the employee on how long to stay away from work (the MoH website will have advice on this once the characteristics of a pandemic are known);
- Decisions on the leave and cover arrangements;
- Checking on the staff member during his/her absence from work. This will facilitate treatment, contact tracing, etc., if they become ill; and
- Set up a process in your plan for ensuring both that:
- the employee is healthy before allowing them to return to work; and
- that they are encouraged to return to work once they are well.
3.6 Contact Management
Contact Definition
MoH currently defines pandemic influenza contacts as people who have had close physical (less than one metre) or confined airspace contact with an infected person, within four days of that person developing symptoms. These are likely to include family members and/or other living companions, workmates (if in close contact situations or confined airspace environments), and some recreational companions.
People who have not been in close proximity nor have shared a confined airspace with a sick person within four days of that person developing symptoms, are not considered to be a contact.
Contact Management Mandated by Law
Under the Health Act 1956, both highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and influenza are classed as infectious diseases. Additionally, HPAI is also a notifiable disease, meaning that some additional provisions of the Health Act apply to it, over and above the provisions that apply to influenza. In order to reduce the risk of further infection, contacts will be expected to stay at home and avoid contact with others for a recommended period. This period will be determined by health officials, and is not at the discretion of the employer.
The role of contact tracing may vary according to the phase of the pandemic. At an early phase, when efforts are directed at keeping the pandemic out or in managing small clusters, contact tracing and associated quarantine of cases and contacts will be vigorous. However if the pandemic affects larger numbers of people across the country, it will not be effective as a strategy to contain the pandemic, and may therefore be dropped.
In any circumstances, employers should urge sick staff members with influenza-like symptoms to return home immediately and contact a health professional in the manner advised by MoH on its website at that time. This may involve phoning the person's normal doctor or nurse, or a specially designated centre to seek further advice, rather than the patient calling in without prior notification. If the health professional identifies the patient as being a suspect or confirmed case, then the health professional will commence contact tracing in accordance with the protocols set by MoH at that time. This is likely to involve making contact with the patient's workplace.
As indicated in the previous section, it is helpful for employers to:
- identify contacts (once an employee is suspected to be infected);
- advise contacts in person that they have been in contact with a person suspected of having influenza; and
- ask contacts to go home, and stay at home until advised otherwise.
3.7 Staff Travel
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade , in conjunction with MoH, will publish appropriate travel advisories for New Zealanders traveling to other countries infected by the pandemic. They will also provide advice for New Zealand government staff and other New Zealanders in infected areas.
Once a pandemic is recognised, the border may immediately be closed to all incoming passengers and aircrew, possibly for several days.
It is likely that quarantine measures will be instituted before passenger movements resume. It is possible that all incoming people will be required to complete at least 8 days quarantine in specially designated places before being allowed landside of the New Zealand border.
If your staff travel overseas for business reasons, your plan will need to include consideration of their management in the event of a pandemic. For example, on declaration of a pandemic, if any staff had recently (within the last 4-5 days) travelled to countries known to be affected by the disease, your business should:
- Advise the employee not to report for work for the duration specified by MoH for the disease (as at October 2005, this was 8 days). Ask them to follow instructions on the MoH website for self-checking for influenza symptoms, which may include advice to telephone (rather than visit) their medical centre to seek advice immediately if symptoms occur. They should report their travel history to the treating doctor. Ask them to document all the people they have been in contact with since returning to New Zealand;
- Check on the staff member during his/her absence from work; and
- Set up a process for ensuring that the employee has completed the time duration and is healthy before allowing them to return to work.
- closures overseas may also cause disruption to travel.
Example - Screening Checklist for Detection and Management of Suspected Pandemic Influenza Cases
Process
- The Influenza Manager receives a call from a person suspecting they may have influenza
- Do not visit the person if this can be avoided - manage the process over the telephone
- Follow the flowchart below:
Screening Flowchart
→ Text Version of "Screening Flowchart" Graphic
Example - Notification Form
Suspected Influenza Case at Work Notification Form
→ Text Version of "Suspected Influenza Case at Work Notification Form" Graphic
Example - Contact List
MoH currently defines pandemic influenza contacts as people who have had close physical (less than one metre) or confined airspace contact with an infected person, within four days of that person developing symptoms. These are likely to include family members and/or other living companions, workmates (if in close contact situations or confined airspace environments), and some recreational companions.
Retain this list and provide to the Medical Officer of Health or his/her designated officer on request.
3.8 Personal Protection Equipment
The following information provides the best guidance available as at October 2005. In the event of a pandemic, refer to Pandemic Influenza for latest information.
3.8.1 Using Masks
People with respiratory infection symptoms should use a disposable surgical mask to help prevent exposing others to their respiratory secretions.
Any mask must be disposed of as soon as it becomes moist or after any cough or sneeze, in an appropriate waste receptacle, and hands must be thoroughly washed and dried after the used mask has been discarded.
3.8.2 Protective Barriers
Protective barriers in the form of perspex or glass may provide useful protection for people such as front-counter staff or public transport drivers, whose duties require them to have frequent face-to-face contact with members of the public where social distancing is either not possible or not practical.
3.9 Where Can We Find More Information?
The following websites provide further information about pandemic influenza:
- Ministry of Health
Pandemic Influenza - background information about influenza, National Health Emergency Plan, pandemic preparedness, planning, etc.
- World Health Organisation
Avian Influenza - updates of global situation, pandemic phases, fact sheets
- Vancouver Coastal Health
Regional Pandemic Influenza Response Plan - includes PDF chapters for private sector organisation planning, local government planning and self-care, as well as other topics. User-friendly "hand-outs".
- Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) - background information about avian influenza, how it is spread, vaccines, outbreak information, travel advice and professional guidance.
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