AP Photo/Arek Rataj A Walmart employee in China takes customer temperatures before allowing them in the store.

Walmart and Home Depot are among the first major US retailers to announce measures to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus and protect employees as the number of infected patients continues to rise.

Both companies are requiring 14 days of remote work for employees who have recently returned from China. Home Depot is restricting its employees’ travel to and from the country while Walmart is limiting transit.

Renata Elias, vice president at global insurance and risk management firm Marsh & McLennan, told Business Insider it’s essential that retailers “take a proactive approach and not a reactionary approach” when it comes to protecting the health and safety of employees.

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As the coronavirus continues to spread in the US with a total 11 confirmed cases, major retailers are starting to implement precautionary policies to protect the health of their employees.

Spokespeople for Walmart and Home Depot confirmed separately to Business Insider that the companies are each enforcing 14-day stay-at-home periods for employees who have returned from trips to China in the past two weeks. Both are encouraging these individuals to work remotely if possible. Walmart is limiting all “non-business critical travel” to and from China while Home Depot is restricting it to prevent spreading the illness.

“We’re closely monitoring the situation and are following guidance from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organisation,” a Home Depot spokesperson told Business Insider. “Out of an abundance of caution, we’re putting all travel to and from China on hold until further notice.”

In a post on Walmart’s corporate blog, International CEO Judith McKenna detailed updates on preventive measures including “enhancing general hygiene and health practices” and placing “special emphasis on disinfecting higher-risk areas.”

“I know many of you are concerned about the developing issues related to the coronavirus which originated in Wuhan, China, and if you’re like me, the wellbeing of our associates and customers there has weighed heavy on our hearts this week,” she wrote.

Managing supply shortages

Courtesy of @ChinaMidnight via Twitter Empty shelves at a Walmart in Wuhan last week.

Though several retailers including IKEA, Apple, and Gap have temporarily closed stores in mainland China, Walmart has remained open in an effort to sell essential items to Chinese consumers. However, products in select locations near Wuhan began selling out last week, in part due to travel bans preventing suppliers from reaching stores, a source close to the matter previously told Business Insider.

In the blog, McKenna notes that Walmart will focus on “leveraging [its] global supply chain to increase supply of essential items to continue to serve customer needs in China.”

“We may still be in the early stages, but I want you to know that we will be there for our associates and customers every step of the way,” McKenna wrote. “I am so grateful to our partners, suppliers and especially our associates in China for their work to ensure people have access to important items and services, while keeping the health and safety of all involved top of mind.”

Proactive policies over reactive measures

For retailers still determining what to do as the outbreak spreads, Renata Elias – vice president at global insurance and risk management firm Marsh & McLennan – urges retailers to “take a proactive approach and not a reactionary approach” when it comes to protecting the health and safety of employees. She said the first step should be to convene a group of key leaders to have a transparent discussion on how coronavirus could impact operations and health.

“A methodology for really any type of crisis situation is putting together a working group internally,” she said. “In the case of a pandemic, this would include key functional members such as HR, human resources, communications, legal, environmental health and safety, and operations.”

She added it’s important that companies review and consider possible changes to sick leave as needed, to prevent employees from coming in and infecting others.

“The last thing we want is employees to be coming to work when they or their family and loved ones are sick,” she said.

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