Community First: Coronavirus Precautions from NEXT Canada

NEWS

Community First: Coronavirus Precautions from NEXT Canada

Hello friends, community and partners,

At NEXT, it is our mission to support our community of entrepreneurs in any way we can. As such, we are putting precautions in place to both protect our community, and continue to deliver on our mission, albeit remotely. 

Like many of you, we’ve taken a hard look at the available data from the  Centre for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and the Government of Canada and we’ve landed on a course of action that will minimize risk, quel anxiety and, above all, protect the best interests of our community. We’d like to share some of those measures with you, should you be faced with your own uncertainty around how to protect your employees and community.  As always, we want to be a resource for all entrepreneurs and, while we may need to close our doors for a short period, we are always just a phone call, zoom or email away. We’ve shared our policies, protocols, guidelines and reputable sources below and we’ll continue to update in real time as new facts become available. Please keep calm, stay informed and take precautions to protect those who are at real risk. 

Best wishes from your NEXT Canada family.

TL;DR (as of March 13th)

For the time being, we will be closing our Next HQ doors, but we remain optimistic that this will be a temporary measure and we will continue to support our community in any way possible, albeit remotely.

For NEXT Canada employees, rest assured that we will continue to support our community and conduct business as usual, albeit remotely:

– We will be implementing a Work From Home Policy, effective March 16th.
– Additionally, we will encourage our team to avoid travel of any kind until more information becomes available.
– All events and business gatherings have been postponed (or moved to an online format).

For now, we will temporarily close our NEXT HQ doors, but we remain optimistic that we will soon re-open to our valued community. 

With our  accelerator programs (Next 36, Next AI and Next Founders) set to commence in early May, we will continue to monitor the situation and communicate updates to our participants on an ongoing basis. As of March 13th, the following precautions have been implemented: 

– All near term events, social and programmatic, have been cancelled or postponed at this time.
With regard to our core programming, we expect to continue with the program calendar/curriculum as planned, though we may move classes and other opportunities to a virtual environment should the need arise.
– All non-essential programming can and should be done remotely at this time. 

With respect to our Montreal based Next AI program, our team there has taken similar precautions to minimize risk for their staff, academics and incoming cohorts. At this time, Next AI Montreal will postpone all non-essential programming, classes will take place remotely and access to co-working space will be postponed. 

FULL PROTOCOL

With your best interests at heart, we are closely monitoring precautions and advisories from the Centre for Disease Control, the World Health Organization as well as the Government of Canada and Public Health organizations to ensure that the guidance for NEXT employees, entrepreneurs and network specific to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is accurate, updated regularly, and reflective of the changing international conditions.

NEXT Canada will follow three key principles to guide our way forward:

  1. Keep employees and entrepreneurs (participants in our programs) safe and healthy
  2. Continue to support our community of alumni to the highest standards possible
  3. Do our part to slow community spread of the virus where there appear to be outbreaks, so that the most vulnerable people are able to get the care they need

Updates to this policy will be made as new information becomes available, so please check  back often. We have provided some helpful links and resources at the bottom of this post should you want additional information. 

Policies, Protocols and Guidelines – NEXT employees

The following are a few preventative measures we have put in place to do our part in mitigating the spread of the virus and to help minimize exposure for those who are considered at risk. This is by no means prescriptive or one size fits all, rather, guidelines for those who are looking for an example for how best to minimize risk amidst uncertainty. 

We have also implemented protocols and guidelines in order to protect our alumni, community and incoming cohorts (Next 36, Next AI and Next Founders) and will continue to communicate timely updates to those community members.

1. Work from home 

We continue to monitor Public Health advisory in the City of Toronto; at this time we will be moving to Working From Home as of Monday, March 16th, 2020. This may change at any time following new information becoming available.

We’ve developed WFH guidelines to help our team’s productivity – reach out if you’d like any tips. 

For the time being, NEXT Canada HQ will also be closed to all visitors – we remain optimistic that we will be able to re-open our doors soon! 

2. Business gatherings

At this time, all events and business gatherings have been postponed (or moved to an online format).

3. Travel 

At this time,  we will encourage our team to avoid travel of any kind until more information becomes available. The following information provides precautions around a few scenarios should they arise. 

Travel Hot Zones – as of March 13th, 2020

The following zones have been deemed travel hot zones, as per the Government of Canada and/or Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The following list is a blend of the travel advisory lists for the U.S. and Canada.

China (Level 3)
France (Level 1)
Germany (Level 1)
Hong Kong (Level 1)
Iran (Level 3)
Japan (Level 2)
Italy (Level 3)
Singapore (Level 1)
South Korea (Level 2)
Spain (Level 1)

International Business Travel

Please note that there should be no international business travel.

If you have traveled to any of the hot zones above in the last 21 days please reach out to your manager and your COO before you return to the office (if WFH policy has been lifted).

North American Business Travel

All business travel within North America is postponed until further information becomes available.

Personal Travel

We advise against any personal travel to any of the countries classified as Hot Zones. If you do plan to travel to one of the hot zones for personal reasons, you should let your manager and COO know. You will be asked to work from home (regardless of WFH policy) once you return, for a minimum of 14 days, regardless of whether you have symptoms.

If you are traveling to an area that becomes a hot zone while you are away, you must notify your manager and COO immediately before your return to the office (regardless of WFH policy). You will be asked to work from home once you return, for a minimum of 14 days.

If you have any other personal travel plans, you should notify your manager with the location of your travel, time of travel and duration of travel. You may be asked to work from home (regardless of WFH policy) once you return, for a minimum of 14 days.

Please try to give your manager as much advance notice of your travel plans as possible, in order to ensure appropriate coverage.

4. General Precautions

We strongly advise you to avoid all large gatherings (such as concerts, sporting events, etc.) and to avoid shaking hands in all circumstances, in order to prevent the spread of the virus.

A. Best practices for Remaining Healthy

For employees without suspected COVID-19 or COVID-19 risk factors.

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.

– If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol
Always wash hands with soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty
– Cough/sneeze into your sleeve vs. into your hands, and  wash hands afterwards
– Keep your work surfaces clean and sanitize regularly (using wipes / disinfectant)
– Maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
– Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth. Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your body and can make you sick. 

Best practices for employees exhibiting symptoms

For employees with exposure to COVID-19 or confirmed COVID-19, you should engage public health resources and/or your local healthcare provider. 

Stay home while experiencing symptoms. Please do not try to come to work (regardless of WFH policy) while experiencing a fever, or a fever and cough.
Seek medical advice. Call your doctor or local hospital for advice.
– Alert your manager and COO. Your manager can assist you in your return to work.
– Do not return to work until you are symptom-free. Talk to your manager before returning to NEXT HQ (regardless of WFH policy).

If you intend on visiting a local healthcare provider office, it’s important to call in advance to let the healthcare provider know you are coming so that they can prepare appropriately to prevent other potential spread.

Policies, Protocols and Guidelines – 2020 Program Cohorts

Employee protocols also apply to program participants. 

For participants with exposure to COVID-19 or confirmed COVID-19, you should engage public health resources and/or your local healthcare provider. Please also notify the Programs team. All information / disclosure will remain confidential.

Additionally, as of March 16th, we are suggesting the following precautions – these will be updated regularly and communicated by the Programs team to all participants.

With our  accelerator programs (Next 36, Next AI and Next Founders) set to commence in early May, we will continue to monitor the situation and communicate updates to our participants on an ongoing basis. As of March 13th, the following precautions have been implemented for our Toronto based programs: 

– All near term events, social and programmatic, have been cancelled or postponed at this time.
With regard to our core programming, we expect to continue with the program calendar/curriculum as planned, though we may move classes and other opportunities to a virtual environment should the need arise.
– All non-essential programming can and should be done remotely at this time. 

With respect to our Montreal based Next AI program, our team there has taken similar precautions to minimize risk for their staff, academics and incoming cohorts. At this time, Next AI Montreal will postpone all non-essential programming, classes will take place remotely and access to co-working space will be postponed. 

References

Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
Government of Canada
Canada Travel Advisory
World Health Organization
Cleveland Clinic
World Health Organization – Clean hands protect against infection

Resources for other startups and employers

Klick Health Response and Resources
League Playbook and resources for employers