Coronavirus | World Health Organisation | 30 Jan 2020

Very informative video from WHO epidemiologist explaining the currently (30 January 2020) known facts of the epidemic.

Personal health advice from the WHO

WHO’s standard recommendations for the general public to reduce exposure to and transmission of a range of illnesses are as follows, which include hand and respiratory hygiene, and safe food practices:

• Frequently clean hands by using alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water
• When coughing and sneezing cover mouth and nose with flexed elbow or tissue – throw tissue away immediately and wash hands
• Avoid close contact with anyone who has fever and cough
• If you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing seek medical care early and share previous travel history with your health care provider
• When visiting live markets in areas currently experiencing cases of novel coronavirus, avoid direct unprotected contact with live animals and surfaces in contact with animals
• The consumption of raw or undercooked animal products should be avoided. Raw meat, milk or animal organs should be handled with care, to avoid cross-contamination with uncooked foods, as per good food safety practices.

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Australian Governments Health Departments Advice | 1 Feb 2020

Our Federal and State Governments have published information and advice about the coronavirus.

Below are the links to the State Governments' Health Departments:

VIC, NSW, ACT, QLD, SA, TAS, WA

Pandemic Resilience – A Continuity Perspective | The BCI | 28 Jan 2020

Within organizations, the Leadership Team supported by their Business Continuity Manager and other resilience professionals, can use a range of proactive strategies to support an effective pandemic response and limit the impact of an outbreak.

What the Coronavirus Means So Far for the Travel Industry | Skift | 24 Jan 2020

The travel industry may experience an outsize impact and disruption from efforts to contain the spread of the virus. Here’s a breakdown of coronavirus’ impact so far on key travel sectors: tourism, aviation, hotels, and business travel.

Novel coronavirus: protection for your organisation | International SOS | 28 Jan 2020

This is a rapidly evolving situation. International SOS is monitoring closely and updating our 2019-Novel Coronavirus website as more information becomes available. We advise all organisations to continue to monitor this outbreak, proactively communicating with your people to explain the ways to prevent infection, review and implement your plans for pandemic and other infectious disease outbreaks.

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WorldAware is closely monitoring the outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus in China and around the globe | 31 Jan 2020

WorldAware intelligence alerts give you timely notification of any significant travel, safety, and security-related incidents that could impact your organization or people. Getting timely notification of such issues or incidents, with applied analysis, gives you and your people the advantage to prepare for and mitigate the threat to your organization and operations.

Companies that have shut down operations in China over the virus outbreak | Business Insider | 27 Jan 2020

Supply chains plan for coronavirus disruption | Supply Chain Dive | 29 Jan 2020

Companies that rely on manufacturing from facilities in Wuhan, China, are considering alternative suppliers as facilities in the region face potential production delays. The number of coronavirus cases has exceeded 4,500 and the region has implemented a quarantine​ limiting travel in and out of the industrial hub.

Tech Sector Fears Supply Delays as Effects of Virus Ripple Through China | Wall Street Journal | 31 Jan 2020

The world’s biggest tech companies are facing disruptions to their supply chains from prolonged factory closures and labor shortages in China, as the deadly coronavirus outbreak threatens the nation’s vast manufacturing network.

Now is the time to tackle your business resilience.

With the annual budgeting setting time just around the corner, this is a good time to start preparations to build a case to have budget allocated to increase your organisation’s resilience.

Leaders often say “Don’t waste a crisis” in the wake of a disaster. The month of January in Australia has been extraordinary by any measure – and the crises continues into February. Whether it’s floods, fires, hail, unbreathable air, dust storms, extreme heat, drought (and drinking water scarcity), extreme wind and now the emerging coronavirus – we’ve had them all in Australia. The impact of the fires on our flora and fauna will take months to just assess. The impact on our social infrastructure, homes and businesses will be huge.

With these issues being discussed every day in the media, executives must be considering the possibility that a similar crisis could impact the viability of the organisation they lead. Who in Tennis Australia could have anticipated that the Australian Open would have been impacted by smoke coming from bushfires 1,000KM away?

If your organisation currently does not have an annual budget for business resilience – now is the time to have one approved! Increasing your organisation’s business resilience must be treated as an on-going program. It is not a project! You may need to re-establish a business continuity and crisis management plan initially and as a consequence there will be a project to carry out this work. You will also need to budget for its improvement over time and its on-going maintenance. As a minimum, you should seek budget approval over three years. Five years is preferable! The Business Resilience Program budget request should contain allocation for the following activities:

• Allocation of an FTE (or part FTE) to be the person responsible for the Program.
• Establishment of a Program Policy and Program Steering Committee.
• Funds for projects to develop a Crisis Management Plan (CMP) and a Business Continuity Plan (BCP). If these already exist, estimate the effort involved in updating them – if required.
• Allowance for the provision of workplace recovery offices – if required.
• Budget for crisis communications software – if required.
• Allocation of a legal person to review your organisation’s contracts with critical third party suppliers (particularly cloud providers).
• Once the CMP and BCP are established, initiate an exercising schedule (at least annually) where key participants in the Program exercise their skills.
• Improvement of the Program over time.
• Annual review of your Business Impact Analysis (BIA) to ensure your Prioritised Activities have not changed since you last completed the BIA.

Please contact Continuity Matters if you need assistance in completing this work. We can also assist in the development of a business case to help justify the allocation of the funds. Your organisation could also consider using Continuity Matters to implement the Program “as a service”.

The April budget setting period is not far away – now is the time to start!

Dear Davos: Read Klaus Schwab's letter to all participants in full | WEF

Climate change threatens future of Australian Open and summer sports | The New Daily

Physical risk from climate change impacts summer sports events.

Climate crisis fills top five places of World Economic Forum’s risks report | The Guardian

The World Economic Forum’s annual risks report found that, for the first time in its 15-year history, the environment filled the top five places in the list of concerns likely to have a major impact over the next decade.

Finance counts the cost of the bushfire catastrophe | AFR

"Where the law requires the disclosure of climate risk, needless to say it should be done in a way that's useful and relevant to the market", he said. "Where climate risk is material, we're actively encouraging directors and advisers to provide voluntary disclosure to the market.”