Omicron confirmed cases continue to occur in companies

The spread of Omicron has led to a series of confirmed cases at work

Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Dong-A Socio Group, and HK inno.N have started to manage confirmed patients

Due to the spread of COVID-19 Omicron, there are a series of in-house confirmed cases within pharmaceutical bio companies.

 

Pharmaceutical bio companies are responding by operating the Omicron emergency system and granting additional telecommuting to close contacts.

 

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 2nd, the number of new confirmed cases as of the 1st was 138,993.

 

Compared to last week (February 25), the number of confirmed patients increased 1.4 times and more than 6.0 times from four weeks ago (February 1st).

 

As a result, the cumulative number of confirmed patients in Korea is 3,273,449.

 

As the spread of Omicron increases, it is known that confirmed cases occur one after another in pharmaceutical bio companies.

 

Pharmaceutical Company A reportedly had a commotion in which all employees classified as close contacts at the time left work after an in-office employee was recently confirmed.

 

Pharmaceutical B is also known to have returned home to all those who worked in the same department the previous day after an in-office employee was confirmed by a self-diagnosis test before going to work.

 

An official from a pharmaceutical company said, "All of the contacts have been converted to telecommuting because the number of employees on duty has been confirmed," adding, "Some pharmaceutical companies also know that the number of confirmed cases by employees is increasing." There have been no reports of mass infections in pharmaceutical bio companies yet, but there are confirmed cases all over the company, so we are paying attention to the management of confirmed cases.

 

According to the guidelines of the quarantine authorities, they are paying more attention to the corporate quarantine system as it enters self-management according to the situation.

 

Hanmi Pharmaceutical operates an emergency situation room in the CSR team to manage confirmed patients at work.

 

The emergency room manages employees who have symptoms such as fever, cough, and body aches, or who have been in close contact with confirmed patients in their families.

 

Even if an employee classified as a close contact is tested negative in a self-diagnosis test, additional telecommuting is given according to the health status and intention of the employee.

 

Dong-A Socio Group has increased the proportion of telecommuters among its in-house workers to 50%.

 

This is to reduce unnecessary contact between employees.

 

In addition, in the event of an in-house confirmed patient, the scope is set and managed larger than the government's close contact standard (more than 15 minutes within 2m).

 

In addition, the government is taking measures to reduce contact between employees by varying the hours of use of the cafeteria or to support diagnostic tests and work from home for employees with suspected COVID-19 symptoms.

 

HK inno.N recommends telecommuting for all employees except for essential field workers to reduce contact with employees at workplaces nationwide, which has been underway since January.

 

It also established a system in which each department creates an emergency contact network to report symptoms or to the head of the department when the cohabitant is confirmed.

 

If a confirmed patient comes out in-house, it is conducting its own quarantine guidelines to check close contacts and return home along with internal sharing.

 

However, pharmaceutical companies are also concerned about work disruptions as a series of self-quarantine people follow due to close contact.

 

Concerns are growing that telecommuting on a large scale in essential field groups such as factories and research institutes could disrupt production schedules.

 

Since the 1st, the government has applied eased self-quarantine guidelines that require the government to exempt families living with confirmed patients from quarantine regardless of whether they are vaccinated or not.

 

Most pharmaceutical bio companies recommend working from home if their cohabitants are confirmed, and the key is whether employees will reorganize their quarantine standards to minimize work gaps.

 

An official from a large pharmaceutical company said, "In addition to the flexible work system and wearing regular masks, we are striving for internal quarantine in a stronger way than the government guidelines." However, as the government's quarantine guidelines are easing, there are many cautious parts about how to set the number of quarantine personnel in case of in-house confirmed patients, he said.