In light of ongoing developments regarding the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) we wanted to share the latest information regarding our response to this developing situation – both corporately and practically.
Please be advised that we are taking the situation very seriously; the health and safety of our customers, our employees and our partners is our primary concern.
There have been a number of additional developments in the past 48 hours at key sites for Continent 8 and varying travel and quarantine restrictions continue to be imposed by Governments globally. We remain following the direction of the World Health Organisation and guidance of the local health authorities in the jurisdictions we operate to ensure we are best placed to minimise any potential effects.
Continent 8’s Business Operations:
Continent 8 has robust business continuity plans in place to provide direction to our teams in the event that the COVID-19 virus poses a health and safety threat to our customers, partners or employees, or otherwise threatens our ability to effectively deliver services.
As a global business with geographically separated teams we have extensive remote and teleworking capability. Our plans therefore allow for scenarios such as the current one unfolding where remote working may become mandatory. In the past 24hrs additional controls have been placed by the Governments of Malta and Ireland to which we are adhering in full. At this stage neither are expected to have any effect on service or service availability.
Local site access and remote hands services will, subject to any location or Government imposed lockdowns, remain available too. This situation is currently unlikely to change, however if there are any further developments we will advise all customers in any affected location.
We have a number of contingency plans underway in readiness, such as:-
- Reduce staff to minimum (critical only) levels at all Continent 8 locations.
- Identify critical staff who must be on-site and prepared to shelter in place for up to 48-72 hours if necessary.
- Engage critical suppliers to understand their Pandemic Response Plans and review their capacity to provide service during any long-term event.
- Ensure a heightened Customer Communication plan exists to maintain and provide for customer feedback.
Current situation at Continent 8 and partner data centres
At this time all Continent 8 customer-facing data centres are reporting as operating normally, with a number of heightened awareness and additional control measures in place based on regional guidance.
At our partner sites, there are varying additional controls and measures in place. These range from enhanced hygiene through to temperature verification, travel history checks and, at a small number of sites, mandatory wearing of protective masks. Guidance in some locations is changing daily.
Continent 8 continues to monitor the situation closely and, should new guidelines or precautions from any Government or health organisational body be recommended, we will implement immediately.
If you require any further information regarding the COVID-19 infection and to reduce exposure to the illness, please follow the below link to the World Health Organisation website.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
