MON, MARCH 23 2020-theG&BJournal- As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic gets worse in the country, the private sector companies are ramping up their preparedness and response measures which includes sending staff to work from home.
Banks, financial institutions and consumer companies are all adopting measures to ensure the safety of their staff.
The measure became even more necessary as news emerged from one the nation’s banks that a customer who visited their banking hall recently, tested positive for the deadly disease. A statement from the bank however said the customer was symptom free as at the time of visit.
Iron Capital, an Africa‑focused investment banking firm, Sunday told all staff to work remotely until further notice.
‘’The firm has made arrangements to settle home WiFi and data costs of staff for the period,’’ the company’s top executive said, adding ‘’we will continue to serve our clients using available technology.’’
CRC Credit Bureau has moved their meetings with relationship managers to other channels such as Conference calls, Video Calls, Skype, Google and Zoom. The company say they are also available via, emails and phone call.
Access Bank, with over 40 million customers, said they are minimising physical meetings both with their staff and external stakeholders. Meetings are to be conducted, going forward, online. The bank say they will be providing their stakeholders with free links to join the virtual meeting rooms for any meeting that would ordinarily have taken place in person. They also announced a 14-day self-isolation for all their staff who returns from overseas trip before they are allowed back to work.
The bank announced that both the Managing director and Deputy Managing Director will operate from different locations for the duration of the global crisis.
Majority of the firms have already announced the postponement of their Annual General Meetings (AGM) on the advice of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), until further notice.
MTN, the Telecoms giant, announced ‘precautionary measures’ that takes effect from today. The measures will include staff working from home also.
Like the rest of the world, these firms are following WHO guidelines and those provided by local authorities.
‘’The aim is to protect the health and wellbeing of their staff whilst remaining fully operational,’’ according to some chief executives who spoke to theG&BJournal.
The Pandemic which originated in Wuhan, Hubei China, has killed 14, 700 people globally and infected over 241, 000. Nigeria has a total of 36 confirmed cases with 1 person pronounced dead today by the Nigeria Centre for Disease control (NCDC).
|twitter:@theGBJournal|email: info@govandbusinessjournal.com.ng|
