Coronavirus Update

What is COVID-19?

According to the NHS, coronavirus disease, 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a type of coronavirus that can spread from person to person and cause respiratory illness.

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

The majority of patients with COVID-19 experience mild to moderate respiratory illness with the following symptoms:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

Some patients, including the elderly and those with compromised immune systems or underlying health conditions, are considered to be at a higher risk of developing severe illness.

If you have COVID-19 symptoms?

If you suspect that you may have COVID-19, follow the steps below to help prevent the disease from spreading to people in your home and community.

• Stay home—Do not go outside your home, except for getting medical care. Make sure to call ahead prior to seeking care.
• Avoid public areas—Do not go to work, school or public areas outside of medical facilities.
• Avoid public transport—Do not use public transport, ride-sharing or taxis.
• Self-isolate—If you have COVID-19, you should self-isolate for as long as the NHS
• Follow treatment guidelines—The vast majority of cases of COVID-19 are mild and can be treated at home by getting enough fluids and rest, and taking any prescribed medication.
• Monitor your symptoms—If your symptoms worsen or you experience any shortness of breath, contact NHS 111 They may recommend that you seek further treatment.
• Practise good hygiene—If you’re ill, you need to practise good hygiene, which includes:
  • Covering your mouth or nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze
  • Disposing of used tissues in the rubbish
  • Washing your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds after you cough or sneeze, and frequently throughout the day

How A&T have responded to COVID-19:

Our priority continues to be to safeguard the health and safety of our clients, staff and wider business contacts, whilst also ensuring that we can continue to provide you with the best possible client service.

With this in mind, we have introduced the following key measures within the business to support this including:

Remote working

Whilst our offices will continue to remain open, we have adapted our remote working policy and developed our remote working capabilities to the point where all teams are able to work remotely from home. Please be assured that we have the technology to enable us to continue our service to all of our clients uninterrupted whilst meeting our public health responsibilities.

Face-to-face meetings

While our teams are available for face-to-face meetings where requested and needed, where these are not business-critical, we are advising staff to minimise these in agreement with our clients. All of our teams will still be available by phone, email, and video conferencing facilities, so we do not anticipate that this measure will impact ‘business as usual’.

We will continue to monitor the ongoing situation and the government, Public Health England and World Health Organisation guidance. If you have any specific concerns about your dealings with us, please contact your usual A&T contact, so that we can review and address these and also provide information on the ways we can communicate with you remotely.

There may be adjustments needed as we all settle into what may be the new ‘normal’ for the next few months – but within that, A&T will be operating on a ‘business as usual’ basis, keeping our service to our clients going in an appropriately adapted way.