The Canadian Chamber of Commerce wants businesses, especially small ones, to start preparing for a potential COVID-19 pandemic, but not to panic.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce wants businesses to start preparing for a potential COVID-19 pandemic, but not to panic.
The advocacy group has published a guide to help companies, especially smaller ones, get ready for the possible spread of the respiratory illness through Canada.
“After SARS [in 2003] big businesses, governments [and] other institutions all put in place plans to prepare for a pandemic or other problems,” said Perrin Beatty, chief executive officer of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, on Monday.
“[However] small business are so focused on day-to-day activities that most of them don’t have business continuity plans, so we want to help them with that.”
The chamber’s guide recommends businesses consider steps such as taking out a line of credit or enabling telecommuting should COVID-19 prevent employees from coming to work.
It also gives advice on what to do if supply chains or staffing is significantly disrupted.
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As of Monday afternoon, more than 89,000 people worldwide have contracted the respiratory illness, including 27 confirmed or presumptive cases in Canada in Ontario, B.C. and one in Quebec.
On Monday, Ottawa’s medical o