Coronavirus
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are known to cause illnesses. The new coronavirus strain identified in China has caused cases of severe pneumonia in China and cases have been exported to other cities and countries.
Precautions that you can take
As members of the public, please refer to the advice by the World Health Organization on precautionary measures:
Protect yourself and others from getting sick
- Wash your hands with soap and running water when hands are visibly dirty. If your hands are not visibly dirty, frequently clean them by using alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
- Also wash your hands
- after coughing or sneezing
- when caring for the sick
- before, during and after you prepare food
- before eating
- after toilet use
- after handling animals or animal waste
- When coughing or sneezing, cover mouth and nose with flexed elbow or tissue. Throw tissue into a closed bin immediately after use. Clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water after coughing or sneezing and when caring for the sick.
- Avoid close contact when you are experiencing cough and fever.
- Avoid spitting in public.
- If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care soonest and share previous travel history with your health care provider.
Practice food safety
- Use different chopping boards and knives for raw meat and cooked food.
- Wash your hands between handling raw and cooked food.
- Even in areas experiencing outbreaks, meat products can be safely consumed if these items are cooked thoroughly and properly handled during food preparation.
Stay healthy while traveling
- Avoid travel if you have a fever and cough.
- Avoid close contact with people suffering from a fever and cough.
- Frequently clean hands by using alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
- Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth.
- If you choose to wear a face mask, be sure to cover mouth and nose – avoid touching mask once it’s on.
- Immediately discard single-use mask in a proper bin after each use and wash hands after removing masks.
- If you become sick while traveling, inform crew and seek medical care as soon as you can.
- If you seek medical attention, share travel history with your health care provider.
- Eat only well-cooked food.
- Avoid close contact and travel with animals that are sick.
All Odfjell Captains have received detailed instruction from Ship Management concerning port calls in China.
Here are the most relevant points for you as seafarer:
- Ship-shore exchanges to be reduced to an absolute minimum.
- No crew is to go ashore in China.
- Chinese workers on board will be restricted.
- Gangway control is strengthened.
- Pay attention to food safety (ref. ‘Practice food safety’ above).
- Focus on personal hygiene (ref. ‘Protect yourself and others’ above).
Upcoming travels
If you plan any travel that counters the official travel advice and guidelines, the travel needs to be elevated for review: Contact your Vessel Handler for assistance before you make any booking.
Corporate and regional HR and crewing continue to monitor the situation closely. For more specific/additional local guidelines, please refer to your Vessel Handler.
The below posters may be printed and displayed on board as a reminder of proactive actions each of us can take (click on the image to download the printable file):
