Response to COVID-19
To ensure the safety and well-being of our staff and their families
Dear all,
Catalpa takes the safety and well-being of our staff and their families very seriously. Like many organizations, we have been closely following the evolving situation related to COVID-19. To help ensure timely and coordinated response to new developments, we have created a Coronavirus Response Team (CRT) to meet regularly and make recommendations for further actions or policies to be implemented.
The team has developed the guidelines outlined below for immediate implementation. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide daily updates via our dedicated #Coronavirus channel in Slack, and this Google Doc will be updated with regular updates sourced from the Australia Health Department, the American Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
To ensure the safety and well-being of our staff and their families, we will continue to adopt whatever measures are prudent and consistent with the best available advice from public health experts and the relevant government authorities.
If you have any virus-related questions or concerns that you feel are not being addressed, please do not hesitate to speak with your supervisor, or reach to Catalpa Operations.
Please read the guidance below, and if you have any questions please reach out on Slack.
1. About coronavirus (COVID-19)
(Information sourced from Australia Health Department, CDC and WHO)
What is this coronavirus (COVID-19)?
COVID-19 is an infectious disease and people with other medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease) might be more vulnerable.
What are the symptoms?
fever (i.e. a temperature of 37.3 C or more) in 90% of cases
flu-like symptoms such as coughing, sore throat and fatigue
shortness of breath in 20% of cases
How is this coronavirus spread?
The coronavirus is most likely to spread from person-to-person through:
direct close contact with a person while they are infectious;
close contact with a person with a confirmed infection who coughs or sneezes, or
touching objects or surfaces (such as door handles or tables) contaminated from a cough
or sneeze from a person with a confirmed infection, and then touching your mouth or face.
Close contact means: You have had face-to-face contact for at least 15 minutes with someone who has been infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus; or you have been in a closed space for at least 2 hours with someone who has been infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus
How can we help prevent the spread of coronavirus?
Practising good hand and sneeze/cough hygiene is the best defence against most viruses.
Clean surfaces (i.e. works desks, door handles, and kitchen benches) with disinfectant regularly.
You should:
Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, before and after eating, and after going to the toilet
Cover your cough and sneeze, dispose of tissues, and use alcohol-based hand sanitiser
Wear a mask if you are coughing or sneezing
And if unwell, avoid contact with others (stay more than 1.5 metres from people).
Staff who have returned from an area where COVID-19 is spreading should monitor themselves for symptoms for 14 days and take their temperature twice a day.
Who is most at risk of a serious illness?
Some people who are infected may not get sick at all, some will get mild symptoms from which they will recover easily, and others may become very ill, very quickly. From previous experience with other coronaviruses, the people at most risk of serious infection are:
People with compromised immune systems (e.g. cancer)
Elderly people
People with diagnosed chronic medical conditions
People in group residential settings
Pregnant women may be more susceptible to viral respiratory infections, including COVID-19
There is currently no evidence that children are more susceptible to COVID-19
How long does the virus survive on surfaces?
It is not certain. Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. This may vary under different conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment).
Are there any specific medicines to prevent or treat the new coronavirus?
To date, there is no specific medicine recommended to prevent or treat the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
Can eating garlic help prevent infection with the new coronavirus?
Garlic is a healthy food that may have some antimicrobial properties. However, there is no evidence from the current outbreak that eating garlic has protected people from the new coronavirus.
2. Health Guidance
What do I do if I develop symptoms?
Please don’t come to work if you have any flu-like symptoms (fever 37.3 or more, a cough, sore throat, tiredness, shortness of breath)
Notify your supervisor. You may choose to utilize your earned sick leave, or if necessary, to make arrangements with your supervisor to work from home.
If you think you have been potentially exposed to COVID-19:
If you develop symptoms (fever 37.3 or more, a cough, sore throat, tiredness or shortness of breath) within 14 days of leaving country or region that is at higher risk for COVID-19, or within 14 days of last contact of a confirmed case, you should arrange to see your doctor for urgent assessment (For Timor-Leste staff this is Stamford Clinic, DMC).
Inform your supervisor and Catalpa can work with local health agencies to evaluate exposure and risk to the general safety of staff.
You should telephone the health clinic or hospital before you arrive and tell them your travel history or that you may have been in contact with a potential case of coronavirus.
You must remain isolated (self-quarantine) either in your home or a healthcare setting until public health authorities inform you it is safe for you to return to your usual activities.
Self Quarantine means;
People who must isolate themselves need to stay at home and must not attend public places, in particular work, school, childcare or university. Only people who usually live in the household should be in the home.
Do not allow visitors into the home. Where possible, get others such as friends or family who are not required to be isolated to get food or other necessities for you. If you must leave the home, such as to seek medical care, wear a mask if you have one.
If you are experiencing higher levels of stress during this time:
The well-being of our staff is a top priority. We encourage all staff to take time for rest and self-care. Should you feel the need for additional support beyond services available please let us know.
3. Catalpa travel guidelines
The COVID-19 situation is changing rapidly
We are monitoring changes to travel advice via the Australian Governments Smart Traveller site.
The U.S. Consulate is recommending Americans register with the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (https://step.state.gov).
There will be no work related international or domestic travel without the approval of a Catalpa Director.
Staff are empowered to delay work-related travel based on personal comfort level, this includes district travel.
4. Medical Insurance
There has been no change to our Aetna policy in response to the Coronavirus at this time. There are no new exclusions and no new benefits associated with the Coronavirus.
If an insured member is treated for Coronavirus, or for the symptoms of the Coronavirus, this would be assessed under the terms and conditions of their policy in the same way as any other viral infection.
Testing: If a member has symptoms, testing falls under the outpatient benefits. If a member has no symptoms, testing falls under the wellness benefits.
5. What is Catalpa doing?
Communicate timely information on COVID-19, sharing guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) -- stay tuned on the #theoffice channel in Slack, and the new COVID-19 channel #coronavirus.
We are actively encouraging sick employees to stay home
We are reviewing all work related requests for travel
We are recording and monitoring all staff personal safety plans
We have put hand sanitizer around the office, and health promotion advice around the office. Please use the hand sanitizer regularly.
We are monitoring the actions and guidance of the Australian and US Embassies, and other partners.
For national staff members, from March to end of May 2020 (next three months), we will double your health allowance. We will review this policy again in May and continue it if needed.
If the situation deteriorates in Timor-Leste
The WHO and Ministry of Health have been coordinating closely on preparing for the arrival of the virus in Timor-Leste. Isolation wards have been established at the National Hospital and CHC Vera Cruz. Testing for the virus is available.
We need to all be mindful of the constraints to Timor-Leste health services.
The limitations of government facilities and private clinics may be affected by an increased demand on services due to the virus.
This may overburden the health services, not just in relation to their ability to respond to patients with symptoms of COVID-19, but to respond to other ailments as well.
Again, we can’t predict what will happen, but being aware of these possible limitations and being prepared is important. This makes prevention and practicing good hygiene even more essential.
Electing to work from home, or your country of origin
At this stage we will be operating based on people's comfort levels.
We would encourage you to think about your own personal health needs, especially if you have a pre-existing condition.
We are open to the idea of staff working from home, or from your country of origin during these uncertain times. Please discuss this with your supervisor.
We have also developed some ‘Working From Home” guidance. If you are working from home please read.
6. Guidance for when a Catalpa staff member tests positive to COVID-19.
This document is a simple guide on what action to take if a worker is positive for COVID-19.
Contract Tracing Form - use this template record close contacts of a staff member that has tested postive to COVID-19
What should you do if someone in your workplace tests positive for COVID-19?
If a staff member receives a positive result while on your premises,
Ensure that the person is placed in a room separate from others
In Papua New Guinea, the Public Health Authority will already be aware and be preparing to transport the person from your premises to an isolation centre. In Timor-Leste, the testing process and response is centralised. The Ministry of Health will coordinate isolation of the individual, as will subsequent monitoring and testing through the individual's recovery period.
Be ready to assist the Health Authorities with their investigation with contact tracing. This will help to limit transmission within your workplace.
‘Close contacts’ will need to self-quarantine.
You can assist by starting to list close contacts in this Contact Tracing Form.
Who becomes a ‘close contact’ of the COVID-19 positive person?
A ‘close contact’ in the workplace setting means either:
A person who had face-to-face contact with a COVID-19 patient within one metre and for more than 15 minutes,
or;
A person who had direct physical contact with a COVID-19 patient. or;
Spending time in the same enclosed space without ventilation. For example, a meeting room, office or transport.
What is ‘self-quarantine’?
Self-quarantine means that people need to stay at home. A person in quarantine cannot leave to attend public places, including work, school, childcare or university. Only people who usually live in the household should be in the home. Do not see visitors. You can leave self-quarantine only to get medical care or in an emergency.
How long do contacts need to self-quarantine?
Contacts need to self-quarantine for a maximum of 14 days from the time that you last had close contact.
What if a contact gets symptoms of COVID during the quarantine period?
Contacts need to:
Continue to quarantine
In Papua New Guinea call COVID-19 hotline 1800 200 if they develop symptoms In Timor Leste call 119 for the national COVID-19 hotline
Get tested if you are instructed to by the quarantine monitoring team
Deep clean office space
Clean all surfaces with soap and water, then disinfected before the area is used again. Cleaners should be appropriately equipped with gloves (plastic aprons and eye protection when mixing disinfectants) and diluted disinfectant (such as sodium hypochlorite) to ensure that cleaning and disinfection can be undertaken safely.
Notify relevant entities
Please notify relevant entities, this may include the local health authorities, program partners or funding bodies, such as DFAT. Advise them of the positive COVID result and that Catalpa will commence enacting its COVID response plan.
When can a staff member return to work?
In the case of a positive test result: Workers who have been isolated after having tested positive for COVID-19 can return to work when they have fully recovered, and clearance given by the health provider.
Close contacts without a positive result. A close contact can return to work after a negative test result at the end of their 14 days of self-isolation.
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