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Corona virus or as it is now classified, COVID-19 continues to be in the news and a challenge for countries worldwide in their effort to contain the spread. The impacts are now being experienced beyond China as the disruptions linked to travel and supply chain are being seen.
Closer to home for Colart, understanding and dealing with the implications of the restrictions resulting from the virus continue to be our focus. As we seek to implement our plans, we will communicate on a weekly basis via Colart News about what is happening but please make sure you check the Intranet for any latest updates!
Safety and Health of our people
We are very pleased to report that all of our colleagues in China and their families continue to remain healthy. The care and concern that has been expressed by people in Colart to their colleagues in China has been warmly received and is a true reflection of the family feel that we value in Colart.
Ensuring the ongoing protection of our people remains the top priority as we start to prepare for the commencement of operations in China. Purchasing face masks locally in China remains a challenge for everyone so the support offered by the US office to secure face masks for CTAM is vitally important and a great step forward.
Looking beyond the borders of China and recognising the number of countries impacted by the virus has increased we would ask everyone to remain alert to the symptoms of the virus and the need for hygiene. As reminder please visit this site for further information on how to ensure protection against infection.
The control in place to restrict travel to China or South East Asia remains in force and there should be no travel to this region unless authorised by Dennis van Schie. Again, if you or a member of your family has visited China within the last 14 days, please contact HR to agree a return to work date which should be no less than 14 days from the date of return.
Opening of our CTAM site
We have received confirmation that authorisation has been given to our Shanghai office that they will be able to open for business from Monday 17 February. Unfortunately, clarity is still not available for Tianjin as restrictions remain in force for non-priority industries of which Colart is classified.
The CTAM team are working closely with local Bureaus to investigate the potential of at least partial opening on Monday but at this stage, it is more likely that the site will remain closed until the following week commencing 24 February. The local authorities have already visited our site to inspect the protections in place for our employees, but we must wait for final authorities. Failing to follow the local rules has dire consequences and we know that companies who have failed to follow the strict guidelines have been punished severely. Of course we will keep you updated via Colart news
As mentioned last week, working from home where appropriate continues to be in place for people outside of the factory process in China and actions have been taken to ensure technology is available to support this practice.
Update on numbers
As of midnight on February 14, the National Health Commission (NHC) reported 5,090 new cases and 121 new deaths in China. The total number of confirmed infections in China have now reached 63,851. Most of the newly confirmed cases remain within Hubei province with 4,823 instances. Among the new cases, 2,174 of cases are considered serious, while 1,081 have been cured. There are now around 10,109 suspected cases, down by half over the course of the week.
Cases in Shanghai and Tianjin thankfully remain on the low side with 318 and 119 cases diagnosed respectively. New cases worldwide were reported in the Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States, bringing the total number of cases to 586 across 24 countries.
Some interesting facts
- Drones are being used in more rural areas of China to remind people to wear their face masks if they are seen to be walking around without them
- For anyone who has travelled by plane or train within the last month, a site is now available for people to input their train and flight number to check whether a passenger infected by the virus was also on the trip.
- A bi-product of the current situation is that a number of major events have been cancelled such as Art Basel Hong Kong and many sports events such as the Shanghai F1.
- As a result of the virus outbreak, it is clear that in China, working from home is no longer considered a privilege but like our experience it has become a necessity. While factories, shops, hotels and restaurants are warning about plunging foot traffic that is transforming city centres into ghost towns, behind the closed doors of apartments and suburban homes, thousands of businesses are getting into action figuring out how to stay operational in a virtual world.
- In a number of Chinese cities there is a “pimp up your face mask” competition being run! To enter people are being asked to make the most original, artistic and creative fake facemask – real face masks must not be used due to the short supply. It is great to see that art is being promoted as an activity for the hours indoors.
Response to a sensationalist story in the Scotsman
A few weeks ago, Graham Bannerman, Project Manager in CTAM posted a response on LinkedIn to a news article published by the Scotsman. This article really “hit a nerve” as Graham could see the news article was lacking in facts and realism. Click here to read what he said.
“Come on CTAM!”
Clearly challenging times for the team in CTAM so Click here to read Dominique’s message to everyone.
Click here for a personal account of the situation from Larry Lu, Production Manager CTAM
Click here for another personal account of the situation from Amanda Hou, Procurement Manager CTAM
Any questions?
Should you have any questions or thoughts about the current situation please send an email to people@colart.com and we will come back to you as soon as possible