A pandemic is the worldwide spread of a contagious disease.
As of March 3, 2020, The World Health Organization has confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in 49 countries, and 122 countries have not reported any cases.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 60 cases of COVID-19 in 12 states.
It’s tempting to think, “SARS was nothing to us. Coronavirus isn’t a threat either.”
However, you do have to worry about/respond to your directors, customers, employees and local government who are worried about it.
Consider the impact to your employee safety, business continuity and productivity if:
- Employees need to travel to a state or country where the virus is spreading
- A business you depend on closes for an unknown number of weeks, or
- Your local Director of Public Health shuts down all schools for a month.
When you prepare for a pandemic, you have a plan for coronavirus, SARS, influenza and the next deadly contagion.
The quick and easy way to test if you’re prepared is to conduct a Pandemic Tabletop Exercise.
If you think your existing plans are workable, then this exercise will confirm you’re prepared.
If your existing plans do not adequately address a pandemic, then this exercise will help you uncover what needs to be done.
What does a Pandemic Tabletop Exercise include?
- We plan the exercise (without any “Gotcha!”s, only “Let’s see what’s missing”)
- You assemble your decision makers
- We facilitate the exercise (a half day)
- We write the After-Action Report, including recommendations for amending your plan
- You incorporate the amendments in your plan
- You’re now prepared for any pandemic
Good leaders protect their people as well as their organization. Call us at 203.563.9999 to see how we can make sure you’re prepared for a pandemic right now.
P.S. See my Security magazine interview, “The Global Coronavirus and Your Response.”