COVID-19: An important time for the profession to connect actions with facts

Yesterday, the government announced secondary cases of COVID-19 in Melbourne, where I live. At lunchtime, I did not go to the supermarket to buy toilet paper, rice, pasta or long-life milk. I did not go to the chemist to stock up on panadol, hand sanitizer or anything else. Had I bothered I might not have found them anyway, as we see an increasing number of empty shelves in supermarkets - a visual reflection of the community anxiety about this virus – uncertainty, a sense of powerlessness, and a not-quite-fully formed sense of fear.

Now is an important time for health and safety people to show leadership by doing what you do very well: acquire the knowledge and information you need, communicate the facts to those around you, and respond to the evidence  – contingency planning and managing risk. If you do that, I’m fairly confident at this stage you won’t be buying 6 months’ supply of toilet paper.

Current updates about the virus can be found here as well as on State and Territory Department of Health sites. Take your data from reputable sources.

Meanwhile, to ensure that the profession is able to talk about the issue in the context of their own work - on Tuesday 10th March in Melbourne, Richard Coleman (head of HSE - Australia Hub at Laing O'Rourke) is facilitating a panel of health and safety leaders, talking about pandemic planning and management for business and the health and safety profession. You can also register by live-stream of you can't be there.  Take a look here if you'd like to know more and register.