COVID-19 Update for Ingeniux Employees and Contractors

Good evening everyone.  We continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation and its impact on our business operations.  Our internal COVID-19 Response Team is meeting daily to evaluate the latest information from local and national health authorities, as well as inputs from fellow employees.  Our top priority is your wellbeing.  Below is an update on office operations for Monday, March 9.

Office Operations:  Both the Seattle office and Walla Walla office are open for business.  We will continue to evaluate this on a daily basis.  We have implemented a rigorous cleaning program at the offices, wiping down common area surfaces with disinfectant spray multiple times each day and providing disinfectant wipes for common areas throughout the office.

Working Remotely:  Anyone who wants to work remotely should do so.  As noted previously, our standard company policy has always provided for working remotely with manager approval.  Nothing has changed in that regard.  If you feel at all uncomfortable or concerned about coming into the office to work, or commuting to and from the office, we fully support you working remotely.  Please coordinate with your manager.

We strongly recommend working remotely if you are in the at risk group for COVID-19 (see below), or if you are in close contact with someone in the at risk group. The at risk group includes:

• People 60 and older
• People with underlying health conditions including heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes
• People who have weakened immune systems
• People who are pregnant

Do not come into the office if you are sick, in close contact with someone who is sick, or exhibiting any of the symptoms commonly associated with COVID-19.  If you have reason to believe that you have come in contact with the coronavirus, or are starting to experience symptoms, please alert your healthcare provider and contact your manager at Ingeniux immediately.  

Remote Work Protocols: With more people working remotely, and the possibility that some people may be working remotely for an extended period of time, please follow these protocols and best practices that support successfully working from home:

• Stay connected with your team. Increase the frequency of your communication and be transparent about when you are working and what you are working on. 
• Check-in with your manager at the start and end of each day. 
• Use RingCentral for meetings.  Make sure you turn on the video option.  This is part of our standard policy for improving communications and community between workers in different locations.
• Structure your time: make a plan at the beginning of the day on what you intend to get done and when you intend to do specific pieces of work.
• Given how quickly things are changing, it’s a good practice to take home your laptop, charger, and other tools for successfully working from home every day when you leave the office.

Travel: We are restricting business travel through the end of March.  If you have business travel already planned for this week (March 9 – 13), we will review those on a case by case basis.  Any business travel that involves airline travel between March 16 and March 31 needs to be rescheduled. 

Anyone returning from personal travel to ‘highly impacted’ areas (see below) must complete a 14-day self-quarantine prior to coming into an Ingeniux office.

-          Mainland China

-          Hong Kong

-          South Korea

-          Japan

-          Taiwan

-          Thailand

-          Italy

-          Gulf Nations (AEM, Bahrain, Kuwait, etc.)

-          Iran

Personal Precautions and Preventative Measures:  Whether at work or at home, please take the following precautions to avoid getting sick:

• Practice excellent personal hygiene habits, including washing your hands with soap and water frequently, coughing into a tissue or your elbow, and avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
• Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects (like doorknobs and light switches). Regular household cleaners are effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth unless you''ve just washed your hands.
• Get plenty of rest, drink plenty of fluids, eat healthy foods, and manage your stress to keep your immunity strong.
• Stay informed. Information is changing frequently. Check the Center for Disease Control’s website (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary.html), the King County Public Health's website (www.kingcounty.gov/COVID) or blog (www.publichealthinsider.com).