in World News Feds urge businesses to prepare for “new virus” pandemic gas & food shortages
By Cosmin Dzsurdzsa, True North Wire
The federal workplace health and safety regulator wants Canadian businesses to prepare a pandemic plan for the possibility of a “new virus” that could lead to food or fuel disruptions in the most extreme scenarios.
In June, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety quietly released the second edition of its Flu and Infectious Disease Outbreaks Business Continuity Plan Handbook.
CCOHS said that the updated handbook serves as a comprehensive guide for employers, advising them on what to prepare for in the face of another pandemic.
However, what sets this edition apart is its explicit focus on a hypothetical “new virus” that could trigger widespread disruption with CCOHS using the recent Covid-19 crisis and the devastating 1918 influenza pandemic as case examples.
In this new edition, the CCOHS writes that businesses must prepare for scenarios far more severe than a temporary closure or a drop in customer demand – although the guide frequently mentions travel restrictions, public gathering bans and quarantines.
Citing the Public Health Agency of Canada, the CCOHS states that “based on trends from past pandemic flus, there may be a higher average number of illness and deaths in age groups different than what we typically see during annual flu seasons.”