Business Continuity and the Pandemic Threat - Potentially the biggest survival challenge facing organisations

A must-have for organisations facing the coronavirus threat, this book reveals what you should do to mitigate the risk, and limit the damage, of pandemic incidents.

It covers:

• Pandemic plan considerations, including:
• Working from home;
• Supply chain management;
• Crisis management roles and responsibilities; and
• Communications and media plans.
• Employees’ health and safety, including corporate cleanliness and healthy habits;
• SARS and norovirus case studies;
• Actions at a global, national, corporate and individual level;
• Health services contingency plans; and
• How to validate your pandemic plan.

The increase in commercial aviation and international travel means that pandemics now spread faster than ever before.

Seasonal flu, zoonotic contagions such as Ebola, swine flu and avian flu (e.g. H5N1 and H7N9), respiratory syndromes such as SARS and MERS, and now COVID-19 (the 2019 novel coronavirus) have affected millions worldwide.

Add the ever-present threat of terrorism and biological warfare, and the possibility of large proportions of your workforce being incapacitated is a lot stronger than you might think.

How would your business fare if 50% or more of your employees, including those you rely on to execute your business continuity plan, were afflicted by illness – or worse?

Although nothing can be done to prevent pandemics, their impact can be significantly mitigated. Business Continuity and the Pandemic Threat explains how.

Part I: Understanding the Threat provides a detailed overview of the challenges that pandemic threats can present. It uses historical examples to illustrate how pandemics can have devastating effects not only on the global population but also on critical infrastructure, the global economy, and society.

Part II: Preparing for the Inevitable considers the actions that can be taken at global, national, corporate and individual levels to mitigate the risk and limit the damage of pandemic incidents. It provides guidance on creating and validating a pandemic plan and explains how it integrates with a business continuity plan. Comprehensive case studies are provided throughout.

Topics covered include:

• The WHO's (World Health Organization) pandemic phases and the CDC's (Centre for Disease Control) Pandemic Severity Index;
• Preventive control measures;
• Crisis management and the composition of a crisis management team;
• Dealing with cash-flow, staff absenteeism, home working and supply chain management;
• Communications and media plans;
• Pandemic issues for HR;
• The threat to critical national infrastructure;
• Health service contingency plans and first responders' business continuity plans; and
• The provision of vaccines and antiviral medicines – including relevant ethical issues.

Understand the corporate impact of pandemics and learn how to prepare for and mitigate their effects.