Coronavirus - what are companies doing
 

What are various companies across the world doing with the spread of the virus increasing across the world.

Do you limit external meetings?
Tell staff to work from home?
Offer face masks to staff?

what else have others implemented?

sending their least favorite employees to china

thats one way :)

"across the world" and a mask? Well..

Anyway, having to go to Asia in March, all bookings are now done with no/low refund rates.

from a friend who works at HSBC in Hong Kong on the investment banking/trading business: traders are split into 2 different locations (central vs shek-mun), and half of IT support was told to "work from home".

I am not eating Chinese food, even if today is the Chinese New Year.

Washing their hands?

Nothing at my company, but then we're banned in China anyways. :)

My employer sent out an email late yesterday from our "public health officer" (I hadn't been aware that we had one) saying that anyone who's been in Wuhan and isn't exhibiting symptoms should follow their regular daily routines and activities while those exhibiting symptoms or anyone exhibiting symptoms who has had close contact with someone who was in Wuhan should seek medical advice immediately.

I don't know exactly who, but I know that individuals with whom I would normally have minor casual contact at work have visited Wuhan during the last month or two.....and I suspect that some of them re-entered the USA at MSP or DTW rather than through one of the five airports ( IIRC SFO, LAX, ORD, JFK, and ATL) that are now screening arriving international passengers from Wuhan.

ADDED: I went back and looked at the email again to verify that nothing is mentioned about the Wuhan lockdown/quarantine, other cities in China, or the State Department travel warning.

There's also nothing said about potential business travel to Wuhan or elsewhere in China. I was there for close to a month on a business trip five or ten years ago and I would guess that most of my immediate colleagues have been in Wuhan at least once.

Our favorite Chinese takeaway told us the place was closing for two weeks for refurbishment. We knew it was code for China New Year. My brother-in-laws local Chinese has also been closed for refurbishment. Going to try our local Indian takeaway's for a few months.

US arranging charter flight to evacuate American diplomats and citizens out of China amid coronavirus outbreak

you do realize that if the said employees can prove that, the company will be sued for millions, right?

It depends on the country, but courts and other governmental administrative bodies in most other countries are more miserly than some US cases may indicate some courts in the US to be at times.m

Even absent litigation concerns, employers probably tend to not want to be in the press as having had exposed employees or to have unnecessarily exposed their employees. Not all press is good press.

the son of a "friend" once ate at a famous steakhouse chain. that very same night, he was rushed to the ER because of nonstop explosive diarrhea as well as vomiting. the doctor gave him some saline solution and he went home after a couple of hours. not sure what the diagnosis was. he didn't any more issues after he went home.

the "friend" asked their family lawyer to contact the steakhouse chain's corporate legal dept(or whatever they call it) long story short, the company offered to settle it for his suffering.. I won't say the exact figure in public, but I can assure you that it was more than enough to cover 4 years of tuition, apartment leasing, food, etc, at the 2nd most expensive private university in the US (plus whatever the attorney's fees were)

large corporation probably always settle because it's much cheaper that way?

This bold seems incredibly dumb and short-sighted. The reports I've read suggest that one can be a carrier and/or have the virus and not show symptoms for a few days. Seems risky to tell those who have recently been to Wuhan to proceed without caution if they aren't exhibiting symptoms.

Our company hasn't issued any travel warnings yet but wouldn't be surprised if they come out soon. Have some AP travel planned for work at the end of February which could be impacted.