Steve & Thread, 197 HP employees in CN impacted due to a SARS-suspected HP employee coming to work and violating his or her isolation quarantine.
Carly needs to send a strong message to her troops, who apparently are out of her influence at the moment. Fire the guy. It's a no brainer. Even our startup has a policy on this: if you enter the work buildings without medical clearance, after knowingly having or being in contact with a SARS suspected or infected person, you get fired. Period. As of a week ago, it's a quarantine illness per Bush's new list. High-tech needs to get much tougher on this issue, to help contain SARS. HP should consider suing the employee too for gross negligence. It's less desirous to do business with a company if the company doesn't get tough on implementing its policies.
One country halved its GDP due to SARs, even China has a reduced GDP. More GDP reductions possible, if this isn't contained.
At Intel's conference call, I'd like to learn two things:
a) what's Intel's estimate on SARS impacting worldwide growth for chips (i.e. with some GDP's reducing, how does that impact INTC.)
b) has Intel taken the necessary step-ups in their policies to minimize exposure to SARs. i.e. mandated a fire policy if people come to work knowingly with suspected SARS and violated quarantines, etc. How many plants in affected countries?
SARS Scare Puts Workers In Quarantine
197 Canadians at Plant Forced Into Isolation
By DeNeen L. Brown
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, April 11, 2003; Page A24
TORONTO, April 10 -- Canadian health officials placed employees at a technology plant in Ontario under quarantine after one worker showed up for work despite showing symptoms of severe acute respiratory syndrome, officials said today.
Authorities said the quarantine order affected employees of a Hewlett-Packard (Canada) plant in Markham, Ontario, near Toronto.
"One individual has caused 197 other individuals to be isolated in quarantine and it has impacted that workplace. It has impacted society in general," said Hanif Kassam, acting medical officer of health in York Region.
Kassam said health officials were in regular contact with the unidentified worker at the factory, who has now been hospitalized and is being treated for symptoms of the ailment, now commonly known by its acronym SARS. Canadian health officials expressed concern that violation of quarantine orders could harm efforts to contain the sometimes-fatal illness.
"We really can't stress enough if someone is in isolation, they must follow the rules of isolation," said James Young, Ontario's commissioner of public security. "If public health says you need to be in isolation, you should be in isolation."
Officials said the case showed the dangers of relying on voluntary quarantine and the potential dangers of spreading SARS, about which little is known. Most SARS cases in Canada have been transmitted, so far, in households or hospitals.
washingtonpost.com |
