As fears begin to grow around the spreading of
coronavirus people across the world are being told to limit travel and potential exposure to those that may have the virus, however as the world slows down with fears of controlling the virus, it has become apparent that the reduction in travel has had a positive impact on environmental issues.
Spotting Symptoms:
As coronavirus continues to break out worldwide, with 373 confirmed cases in the UK as of March 10th. The government are making efforts to reduce the spread of the virus, so if you have any of the symptoms below, you should call NHS 111 and stay indoors and avoid contact with other people.
Symptoms include:
• Headaches
• Coughing
• Muscle pain / aches
• Difficulty breathing or being short of breath
• Fever and tiredness
Keeping safe:
It is the responsibility of everyone to do their upmost to try and reduce the spreading of the virus, washing your hands
frequently, catching coughs and sneezes, throwing away tissues and avoiding people who are showing any symptoms. It is also a good idea to suggest to someone who may being showing signs of having the coronavirus to keep themselves in containment and take the steps above to help keep you and others around them from catching the virus.
Some of the below actions are worth thinking about to help minimise the spreading of the virus:
• If you are travelling for meetings, can these be done via the phone?
• As an employer, are you able to allow staff to work from home? This is more important if someone in the office has
symptoms or has come back from a high-risk area.
• Is there hand wash/sanitiser available in the workplace?
• Have you made sure your business is as optimal as possible should
the UK government ask for people to remain in isolation?
Travelling:
If you must travel for work or are going on holiday, please be sure to check the NHS advice page. The page breaks down some of the higher risk areas as well as offering a country by country travel guide and British Airways have cancelled all flights to Italy until April 4th as the country has asked civilians to remain in isolation.
There is also information on steps to take if you are returning from visiting an area which is known to be higher risk for the virus. These areas include China, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Iran, South Korea and Vietnam as well as others.
Saving the planet?
Despite the virus at this current time not looking like it going to slow down in spreading across the world, there are, among all the negatives, some positive news that the virus is showing us, especially in terms of environmental benefits.
Clearly, there are issues in hygiene which have caused the outbreak, but since the outbreak, industry has slowed down which has meant less people travelling to and from work and production factory’s closing in China to help contain the virus.
However, NASA recently reported that there has been a dramatic drop in the amount of noxious gas (from motor vehicles, power plants and industrial factories), with a 10% – 30% drop in the gasses show between 2019 and this year.
The industry shut down has had a huge knock on effect in a negative manor as well, lots of our production comes from china and fears over the impact of the virus saw the US Market suffer their worst week since the financial crisis in 2008 a few weeks ago.
It is also likely that businesses such as Apple and Microsoft will be impacted by the virus with their supply chain being effected. But the positive news about the reduction in noxious gas in China is something that shouldn’t be forgotten, especially if organisations such as Apple are able to find a way around their current supply chain issues and find greener alternatives.
