Coronavirus update (2) - March 3, 2020
Hi everyone,
This is a duplicate of a communication previously sent on March 3, 2020.
This is an update to our COVID-19 communication from February 26, 2020.
We have been following the activity of governments, health organizations and other companies around the world as they all work to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on their populations and employees. We think that now is a good time to make a few temporary changes to how we conduct our daily operations, with the goal of keeping everyone at Vanilla safe, reducing our risk, and trying to act reasonably given the information we have.
The policy changes we’re talking about today all have one thing in common: reducing the likelihood of Vanilla employees coming into contact with people or environments that have a higher risk of spreading COVID-19.
Our individual, personal risk is not super high, given what we know of how COVID-19 affects different age groups. We’re all in decent health, not elderly, and we’re all able to get help if we need it. Unfortunately, the risk posed by this virus goes beyond just those it directly infects. If you travel somewhere and are exposed to COVID-19 and then pass it on to a child or an elderly relative, that’s much worse and has far larger potential consequences. We don’t want to put anyone in that situation.
As of Monday, March 9th 2020, here’s what we’re changing:
Cancel all non-essential work travel
All non-essential work travel should be cancelled, indefinitely. No new non-essential work travel should be planned. Essential work travel would be something that, if we didn’t do it, would significantly disrupt or damage company operations. For example, if we needed to travel in order to repair a datacenter or something critical like that, we would do it.
Cancel all non-essential office visits
Our offices don’t get as much non-employee traffic as some other companies, but we do have occasional customer visits, friends and family visits, and things like that. As of now, those kinds of visits are no longer permitted. The office is for employees only until further notice.
Work from home when you return from international travel
If you or someone in your household does choose to travel internationally, or visits an international airport, you will be required to work from home for the 4 weeks following your return from the airport. You should immediately disclose such travel to Lindsay and make sure that she knows about your situation. If your travel results in your being tested for COVID-19 by a laboratory certified in Canada, and the result of this test is clean, you may return to work.
Stay at home if you’re sick
If you are sick, experience respiratory symptoms, or think you might have come into contact with the virus, please stay at home. You can still work and you don’t need to take a sick day, but please don’t come into the office if you’re not feeling well.
Get ready to work from home, generally
Reiterating what was discussed in the last communication, it would be a good idea to make sure that there is somewhere in your home for you to work, and that your internet connection is reliable. Make sure you bring your laptop and charger home with you each night. We are still trying to decide if it will become necessary for us all to stay home, because that will be a very disruptive decision. Each team will face different challenges if/when we enter that phase, so now would be a good time for each team to begin thinking about how to manage their work in a decentralized way.
What about the Vanilla retreat?
We are currently hopeful that this situation will be resolved by the time the retreat rolls around. If there is an active global pandemic by the time we need to go on our retreat, we will cancel it. Currently, there is no way to know how this will evolve so we will need to monitor and make a decision closer to the date of travel.
This situation is constantly changing, and we’re trying to make the best decisions we can with limited information. We expect to make changes to these policies as we learn more.
Please chat with Lindsay or myself if you’ve got any questions about this.
Comments
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Hi everyone,
As we know, some areas are experiencing outbreaks and community transmission and as such are deemed higher risk than others with few cases that have been traced back to hot spots like China, Iran and Italy.
Because of this, the travel guidelines will stay in force. We want to reduce the impact where it makes sense, so we’d like to make a distinction between general international travel to/from non-hotspots, and travel that intersects with a hotspot. If your travel does not intersect with any active hotspots, we will reduce the quarantine period to 2-weeks following your return, or the return of someone in your household. If during that 2-week period you do not show any symptoms, it will likely be safe for you to return to work. The reason for this is that we know that the incubation period is up to 14 days.
It is very important to inform Lindsay of your travel plans and the travel plans of anyone in your household so we can assess your specific situation and make the best decision for you and the company.
Updated guideline:
Work from home when you return from international travel
If you or someone in your household does choose to travel internationally, or visits an international airport, you will be required to work from home for the 4 weeks following your return from the airport. You should immediately disclose such travel to Lindsay and make sure that she knows about your situation. If your travel results in your being tested for COVID-19 by a laboratory certified in Canada, and the result of this test is clean, you may return to work.
If your travel does not intersect with a COVID-19 hotspot, your home quarantine period may be reduced to 2 weeks instead of 4.
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