Pandemic outbreaks — Virginia

Virginia employers play a key role in protecting the health and safety of their employees during a pandemic outbreak. A “pandemic“ is a global epidemic. There have been four such pandemics in the last century, prior to the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak:

1. Spanish Flu (1918)
2. Asian Flu (1950s)
3. Hong Kong Flu (1960s)
4. H1N1 Flu (2009)
5. COVID-19 (2019-present).

A pandemic can have a major impact on business operations. For example:

• employees may be forced to remain at home to care for family members
• multiple employees may fall ill at the same time
• employees may face childcare issues due to the closure of schools and day cares
• employees may refuse to leave their home due to sheer panic
• employers may be forced to close or severely limit operations due to governmental shut-down or stay-at-home order.

These and other potential effects underscore the importance of disaster planning, making it crucial for employers to have a pandemic preparedness plan to minimize...

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