Important Coronavirus information update

At the end of December 2019, the World Health Organization was alerted to several cases of pneumonia in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. This novel Coronavirus, COVID-19 belongs to a family of viruses, which includes the common cold, as well as SARS and MERS viruses.

By the end of January, it was reported that more than 7,000 people had been sickened by the Coronavirus and by begininnig of April 2020, this had grown to over 900,000 reported cases in 180 countries/territories around the world, with the outbreak being declared a pandemic on 12th March.

What does the outbreak of novel Coronavirus mean?

The risk of novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission is now considered a global concern. Governments around the world are implementing guidelines that are increasingly restricting the movement of people and encouraging physical distancing, that although challenging, are necessary to stem the transmission of the virus and protect public health.

What are we doing for our customers?

As a responsible organisation that is committed to protecting people, we will be closely monitoring the situation and providing informative updates to our customers via our websites and direct communications.

We want you to be reassured that our colleagues will not pose added risk to our customers and their employees, as a result of the actions and training that we are undertaking to ensure continued delivery of a safe and high level of service, whilst also adhering to regional Governmental instructions and being sensitive to customer health and safety requirements. For more information, please see below.

We will also be providing information on an ongoing basis, regarding what you can do to reduce the potential risks of virus transmission in your location. Scientists around the world continue to discover more about the transmissibility, severity and restriction of the COVID-19, but until we know more, we would encourage you to adopt and promote effective hygiene behaviours that are proven to be effective against the spread of viruses.

Will there be any changes to my service levels?

The health and safety of our colleagues and customers is of paramount importance to us, and we will not offer our services unless we can be sure it is safe to do so. We are aiming to keep disruption to a minimum; however the following restrictions have been put in place for safety purposes:

1. Rentokil Initial businesses will not conduct any type of service in medical treatment rooms or quarantine areas which are used for the care of patients who have experienced COVID-19 unless they are specifically trained to do so.
2. Our businesses which provide specialist disinfection services by colleagues trained in biohazards and infection control will be permitted to conduct services in the following areas, provided there are no potentially affected people in the area and all other risks have been robustly assessed.
   1. Medical treatment rooms or quarantine areas which are used for the care of patients who have experienced COVID-19 infections.
   2. Any premises or vehicle which has been quarantined due to the presence of a suspected COVID-19 patient(s).

What are we doing for our employees?

In order to ensure we provide a sensible and proportionate response, we have established a dedicated central team to monitor the global situation and maintain a global response plan. The initial phase of this plan consists of providing instructions and guidelines for country leadership teams, and ensuring all colleagues around the world receive thorough awareness briefings. All information is being assessed on an ongoing basis to ensure that our people are always protected and are also able to inform our customers on new developments as they happen.

In every country, our management teams, health and safety, and HR managers are continuously monitoring local government guidance and recommendations from WHO and CDC.

In a country with active outbreaks we are carrying out risk assessments and implementing risk control measures to ensure colleague exposure to infection risks is reduced, helping to protect them and also customers with whom they come into contact. These controls may include:

• Increased supply and use of PPE, particularly N95 and FFP3 face masks.
• The potential introduction of travel bans.
• Possible restrictions or postponement of visitors from affected areas.
• Quarantining colleagues who present symptoms after travel into infected areas or exposure to infected persons.

In countries with zero or a small number of isolated cases, we will continue to carry out routine work activities, following standard safe working practices, to include:

• Practicing regular, good hand hygiene using soap and water, ensuring hands are thoroughly dried and applying an alcohol-based hand sanitiser solution - particular importance when travelling or working in heavily populated areas.
• Use of all forms of fit-for-purpose, undamaged PPE, specified and provided for the work they are required to perform.
• Ensuring cuts and abrasions are kept clean, treated and covered with waterproof dressings.

More information to follow

Further information will be provided through regular updates to this page, so please check back or bookmark this page. Alternatively, you can keep up-to-date with country-specific guidance and the current recommendations from dedicated websites:

• The World Health Organization (WHO)
• The Center for Disease Control (CDC)
• The official website of Government of the Republic of Indonesia on coronavirus disease & update in Indonesia