News
Our Response to Covid-19
Date: 11 Feb 2022
Author: Hill Laboratories
With Omicron here in NZ and with high levels of vaccination, the public health response settings clearly acknowledge that 2022 will be the year that COVID will move through a large part of NZ’s population, so for all of us it is now a matter of when, not if, COVID enters our businesses. Here at Hill Labs we continue to implement a range of risk mitigations in preparation for the inevitable disruptions that are approaching. These include encouraging those who can to work from home, postponing or cancelling most work-related travel, and strictly limiting the numbers and types of visitors to our sites. The wearing of face masks within our laboratories is strongly encouraged, as are vaccinations and booster shots, and good hygiene practices are in place throughout all of our branches. We have substantially increased the amount of inventory that we hold due to the likely continued disrupted of supply chains, and we have budgeted to carry higher staffing levels this year than we normally would in preparation for the anticipated increase in staff absenteeism. Thankfully, we have been approved by MBIE as doing critical work, so we will be able to employ the ‘test-to-work’ tactic in those parts of the business where critical work is occurring. We’re also leveraging our in-house COVID saliva testing operations to carry out surveillance testing of our staff with more targeted testing as and when required.
Nevertheless, when COVID does enter our business it will cause disruption, as it surely will in most NZ businesses. We do anticipate that our service delivery will be impacted at times, but please feel assured that we will all be working hard to minimise those impacts. Fortunately, we have a great team with high levels of staff engagement and a strong culture, and so we feel well-poised to successfully navigate the turbulent waters ahead of us.
For the latest Covid-19 information from Hill Laboratories, please visit our Covid-19 Response page: https://www.hill-laboratories.com/covid-19-response-3/