Since the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak emerged in Wuhan China, this new disease has soon soared out of control and impacted neighboring countries and beyond. It has adversely affected trade and business activities in the region and now been officially classified as a “Pandemic” by WHO. Fortunately, the Taiwan government has rolled out preventive measures before the first imported case confirmed. All our government services, including the IP office and Courts, keep normal operation as usual with proper measures.
TOPTEAM keeps following the epidemic (now the pandemic) development and guidance from the government and has taken a series of precautionary measures to better protect our employees, ensure the smooth operation of our services and safeguard clients’ interests.
All our employees completed a Personal Health assessment for the health status, personal travel and contact history related since the end of January. We also keep our employees updating their personal health assessment records based on their exposure and travel activity and level up precaution to report illness or an incident over a reasonable suspicion.
TOPTEAM prepares sufficient quantities of surgical masks, disinfectants, and cleaning supplies; also raises the frequency of routine disinfection in our office while reducing unnecessary gathering activities/external meetings to minimize the risks of exposure to COVID-19 infection. Up to now, the operation of our firm continues as usual but we have canceled all international travel by May, to further eliminate health risks to our staff during this time.
Meetings with clients, foreign associates and vendors, if applicable, shall be held via video-conference or telephone. In the case of necessary visits to clients (or gathering), our attorneys and colleagues are advised to follow virus prevention rules and wash hands properly before and after said visits/meetings.
What is more, as many countries have seen a spike in confirmed cases of COVID-19, TOPTEAM has stepped up our access control for employees returning from travel overseas. Employees are also asked to take two temperature checks a day. Anyone showing a symptom of acute respiratory illness will be advised to return and stay home until 24 hours after symptom-free without medication. Preventive measures for visitors (clients, suppliers, foreign associates, etc.) are also in place, according to the recommendations from the responsible authorities.
The current pandemic inevitably has a temporarily negative impact on many business operations in many countries, including that of our peers and counterparts. For this reason, TOPTEAM has kept a close watch on the service continuity of IP offices, our colleagues and alternatives available to fulfill our responsibilities and keep clients’ interests intact. Most work would be primarily processed by online submission, and the telephone communication, or postal services, would be taken if there is any need. We have been sorting out all the cases due in the near future; review progress one by one and take further action required early with clients’ informed consent.
TOPTEAM continues to provide high-quality services as usual, and all our employees are healthy and have remained uninfected. We will review and update our preventive measures according to the decisions taken by the responsible authorities and actual business needs. TOPTEAM will never compromise the health of our employees and the interests of our clients in all scenarios.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any question or request. And above all, we genuinely wish you and your loved ones good health!
