SAP Global Pandemic Task Force: Summary New Coronavirus (COVID-19) Quick Facts

SAP Global Pandemic Task Force
Global Security, Global Health & Well-Being, Global Real Estate & Facilities,
Integrated Employee Communications, Global Human Resources
Summary New Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Quick Facts
Latest Update: 03/05/2020
 This ongoing outbreak of pneumonia was first identified in Wuhan, China, caused by a novel
coronavirus. Initially named 2019-nCoV, the WHO decided on Feb. 11th to name the virus Sars-CoV-2.
The disease is named COVID-19, short for “Coronavirus Disease 2019.”
 Symptoms are unspecific and often include: fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
 The current novel coronavirus outbreak caused an epidemic in China and has started to spread
around the world.
 Human-to-human transmission is occurring. Although it’s unclear at this time how easily or
sustainably the virus is spreading between people.
 Moderate immediate health risk to the general public outside of China or affected areas in other
countries currently. Unlike SARS (Sars-CoV-1) in 2002/2003 this outbreak of a coronavirus causes
less harmful pneumonias. Lethality mostly occurs in persons with pre-existing conditions.
 TRAVEL: SAP asks all colleagues to conduct “business-critical” travel only.
SAP asks to defer all travel to and from Mainland China, Iran, South Korea, San Marino and
COVID-19 affected areas of Italy (see below) due to official travel restrictions in place and due to
limited access to adequate medical care in affected areas.
 WORKING FROM HOME: If you have COVID-19 associated risk factors in your private environment,
medical risk conditions (e.g. chronic diseases, elderly people, pregnancy) or concerns about coming to
the office we ask that you align with your direct management on how you can best work from home.
 EVENTS: With immediate effect, all SAP-hosted events planned for March will be cancelled as physical
events. This decision covers all in-person events globally (regardless of size or type)
 WHO: For the general public outside of Mainland China and affected areas in other countries no
additional precautions are recommended to date. The committee advised on Jan 30th, 2020 that the
virus outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC, see FAQs
below). As of Feb 28th, WHO has raised the global risk status to very high in regard to the risk of spread
and risk of impact of COVID-19 in order to prompt prevention activities throughout the world and better
support countries with lower level of public health. Each country then assesses the specific risk to its
own population. WHO continues to closely watch and analyze the situation.
 The situation is closely monitored at SAP – This notice will be updated as more information becomes
available.
FAQs:
FAQ SECTION ONE: DISEASE
1. What´s about the Novel Coronavirus?
This ongoing outbreak of pneumonia (COVID-19) started in Wuhan, China in December 2019. On
January 7th, 2020 the Chinese authorities identified a new type of coronavirus (Official naming as of
today: Sars-CoV-2). Coronaviruses in general are a family of viruses that can cause illnesses such as
the common cold, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome
(MERS). Current situation, numbers of infected, recoveries and deaths are daily updated: WHO
2. What does it mean that the WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern
(PHEIC) on January 30th, 2020?
This is a formal declaration (Link to WHO) giving the WHO more legal authority to influence local health
measurements and to coordinate an international response. To avoid misunderstandings: The
declaration of a PHEIC is no change in the risk assessment for the general public outside of
China, which is still considered to be moderate. SAPs Global Pandemic Task Force continues to
monitor the situation and will update SAP guidelines if required according to official health authorities.
© 2020 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. ǀ INTERNAL

3. How threatening is COVID-19?

At this moment due to the amount of affected people the outbreak is a serious public health threat in
China. Local measures are taken accordingly. A spreading with satellite outbreaks in other countries
occurs and is closely monitored by official health authorities. The immediate health risk to the general
public outside of China or affected areas in other countries is currently still classified low to moderate.
Nevertheless, from a global perspective as of today the virus does appear more harmless than
comparable viruses from the family of coronaviruses (MERS, SARS). The course of the illness
ranges from very mild to severe. Based on current information, persons in good general health are very
likely to recover fully, as with the seasonal flu.
For perspective: The risk of annual waves of influenza both regarding total case numbers and
total number of deaths is much higher for the general public outside of the affected regions.
4. What are the symptoms that COVID-19 can cause?

Symptoms of infection (if any) are unspecific and flu-like: fever, cough and shortness of breath.
5. How does the virus spread?

Human-to-human transmission is occurring. Although it’s unclear at this time how easily or sustainably
the virus is spreading between people.
6. How long is the incubation period?

The “incubation period” means the time between catching the virus and beginning to have symptoms of
the disease. Most estimates of the incubation period for COVID-19 range from 1-14 days, most
commonly around five days.
7. How are SAP employees informed if cases at SAP are confirmed?

The information channel will be picked depending on the specific case and location (e.g. email, direct
management). As the information process will be handled locally, the exact nature of the communication
might differ. Be aware that as a globally operating company cases within SAP are possible. Currently the
risk for the general public including SAP employees outside of the affected regions is still considered low
to moderate.
8. What´s the treatment?

There is currently no specific antiviral treatment recommended for COVID-19 infection. Treatment is
symptom-orientated as for flu infections (supportive care to help relieve symptoms until illness is over).
9. Is there a vaccine?
No, currently, there is no vaccine available.
10. How can I protect myself?

The best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to this virus and usual preventive actions as
mentioned below.
 Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Especially after direct
contact with sick people or their surroundings. Soap and water are sufficient. If soap and
water are not available during travel, use an alcohol-based pocket hand sanitizer.
 Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
 Cover your cough or sneeze with a disposable tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash immediately
and wash your hands. If there is no tissue within reach cover mouth and nose with the crook of your
arm and turn away from people around. After coughing or sneezing wash your hands thoroughly.
 Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
 Avoid close contact with live or dead farm animals or wildlife.
 Stay home when you are sick.
11. Do we need alcohol-based disinfection in the washrooms of our locations?

No, washing hands thoroughly for 20 sec with soap and water is sufficient.

12. What if I observe symptoms?

If you observe:
 Symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing) AND coming from affected area
OR Symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath) AND previous contact to possibly infected person
o Stay at home
o Get medical advice according to your local health authority
o Inform health@sap.com
o Unless medical advice from your local health authority states otherwise you can
return to the office 14 days after symptoms have cleared
o Do not return to the office unless cleared by the SAP Global Health & Well-being
medical team (health@sap.com)
13. Where can I get personal support in case of personal concerns, as anxiety?
You can always contact health@sap.com, QuickLink: /go/health
Or address concerns to your local EAP (Employee Assistance Program):
https://portal.wdf.sap.corp/go/eap
14. What are the recommendations for various COVID-19 scenarios for SAP?
Stay calm, be prepared and make yourself familiar with the recommendations for various COVID-19
scenarios for SAP.
15. Where can I find official current updates on the virus?

(1) https://www.who.int/csr/don/en/
(2) https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/current-risk-assessment-novel-coronavirus-situation
(3) https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Risikobewertung.html
(in German only)
(4) https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48
e9ecf6
FAQ SECTION TWO: WORK FROM HOME AND TRAVEL IMPLICATIONS

Working from home
If you have
 COVID-19 associated risk factors in your private environment,
 medical risk conditions (e.g. chronic diseases, elderly people, pregnancy)
 concerns about coming to the office
we ask that you align with your direct management on how you can best work from home.
In addition to our global guidelines, please be aware of the advice from your local leadership, which may
request that employees work from home, or apply office closure measures according to local risk factors.
Travel
We ask all colleagues to conduct business-critical travel only.
 We consider business-critical engagements to be those requiring SAP’s physical attendance and
internal travel to ensure business continuity.
 This could include technicians who need to travel to SAP data centers or colleagues needed to
provide secure support at specific SAP locations, for example.
 Please cancel any existing travel plans that are not business-critical for all of March, including
internal events and meetings.
 this guidance will be reassessed as the situation develops.
 Exceptions are possible with L1 approval. If in doubt, please speak to your manager.

ESPECIALLY SAP ASKS TO DEFER ALL TRAVEL:

 To and from Mainland China
 To and from Iran
 To and from South Korea
 To and from San Marino
 To and from COVID-19 affected areas of Italy:
o Lombardy (including Milano), Veneto, Trentino, Alto Adige (South Tyrol),
Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany
Please also defer travel to other areas of COVID-19 affected countries as advised by your local national
authorities; many countries have issued travel advisories of various levels. Even in the absence of such
advisories, serious consideration should be given to deferring non-essential travel to COVID-19 affected
countries.
In case exception for travel in mentioned affected countries or areas above is needed, please reach out to
rapidcrisisresponse@sap.com – please provide your travel itinerary and your L1 approval. Once received
SAP Global Health & Well-being and SAP Global Security will handle your approval request within 12hrs and
provide individual advice.
IF YOU TRAVEL, PLEASE CHECK THE CURRENT COVID-19 RELATED ENTRY RESTRICTIONS AND
QUARANTINE MEASURES OF YOUR DESTINATION COUNTRY HERE:
SAP’s Travel Assistance Provider International SOS
 Hotline: +49 62277 60006
 Membership
Portal: https://www.internationalsos.com/MasterPortal/default.aspx?membnum=31ACPA0000
41&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
AFTER RETURNING WITHIN THE LAST 14 DAYS FROM MAINLAND CHINA, IRAN, SOUTH KOREA,
SAN MARINO AND AFFECTED AREAS OF ITALY AS WELL AS TRANSIT STOP OVERS:
 Work from home for at least 14 days after leaving the mentioned countries and areas – even if you
do not have symptoms
o In case of typical symptoms (fever, cough, flu-like symptoms):
o Stay at home
o Unless medical advice from your local health authority states otherwise you
can return to the office 14 days after symptoms have cleared
o Do not return to the office unless cleared by the SAP Global Health & Well-
being medical team (health@sap.com)
 If there are no symptoms for at least 14 days after returning, you can return to the office
CLOSE CONTACT (defined as face-to-face e.g. in direct conversation for >15 minutes or within 2 meters/6.5
feet) TO A CONFIRMED OR SUSPECTED CORONAVIRUS CASE, E.G. RETURNING FROM TRAVEL
(REGARDLESS OF ORIGIN):
 Work from home for at least 14 days after suspected contact – even if you do not have symptoms
o Stay at home

Do not return to the office unless cleared by the SAP Global Health & Well-
o
RETURNING FROM WORLDWIDE TRAVEL WITHOUT CONTACT TO A CONFIRMED OR SUSPECTED

CORONAVIRUS CASE AND NOT FROM THE FOLLOWING AREAS WITHIN THE LAST 14 DAYS:
MAINLAND CHINA, IRAN, SOUTH KOREA, SAN MARINO AND AFFECTED AREAS OF ITALY:
 Employees can come to the office as long they are not suffering from typical symptoms (see above):
No symptoms - No work restrictions
 In case of typical symptoms (fever, cough, flu-like symptoms):
o Stay at home
 Unless medical advice from your local health authority states otherwise you
 Do not return to the office unless cleared by the SAP Global Health & Well-
WHAT SHOULD I DO, IF NOT I BUT A CLOSE CONTACT PERSON (defined as face-to-face e.g. in direct
conversation for >15 minutes or within 2 meters/6.5 feet – E.G. SPOUSE, PERSON IN SAME
HOUSEHOLD, RELATIVES ON VISIT) HAS BEEN TO THE FOLLOWING AREAS WITHIN THE LAST 14
DAYS: MAINLAND CHINA, IRAN, SOUTH KOREA, SAN MARINO AND AFFECTED AREAS OF ITALY OR
TRANSIT STOP OVER WITHIN THE LAST 14 DAYS?
 Work from home for at least 14 days after the last contact with the close contact person – even if
you do not have symptoms
o Stay at home
o Do not return to the office unless cleared by the SAP Global Health & Well-
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF A CONTACT PERSON OF YOURS HAD CONTACT WITH A POTENTIAL
CORONAVIRUS CASE?
A. CONTACT PERSON OF YOURS HAD DIRECT CONTACT (defined as face-to-face e.g. in direct
conversation for >15 minutes or within 2 meters/6.5 feet) WITH A POTENTIAL CORONAVIRUS CASE
(inside or outside of SAP)
Inform your manager. Ensure that the person is contacted immediately to clarify if a test for SARS-
CoV2 virus was conducted and what the result of the test was. Usually the result is in place within hours
to a day. Please note that local authority might not conduct testing and recommend measures like self-
quarantine only.
For general information of team or further measures wait until case is confirmed (see B)
1. In case of negative testing of your contact person´s (e.g. your colleague) contact person (e.g.
colleague of your colleague) you do not need to take specific measures unless your contact person
develops any flu-like symptoms within 14 days of the contact with the potential coronavirus case.
Please note that negative testing does not rule out infection completely, so if your contact person or
you develop any flu-like symptoms within 14 days of the contact with the potential coronavirus case
follow medical advice according to your local health authority and inform health@sap.com
2. In case of positive testing: see section B

3. In case of no testing:
 Work from home for at least 14 days after suspected contact – even if you do not have
symptoms
o In case of any flu-like symptoms.
o Stay at home
 If there are no symptoms for at least 14 days after contact, you can return to the office.
B. CONTACT PERSON OF YOURS HAD DIRECT CONTACT (defined as face-to-face e.g. in direct
conversation for >15 minutes or within 2 meters/6.5 feet) WITH A CONFIRMED CORONAVIRUS CASE
Both you and the contact person of confirmed case should not come to the office and stay at home
for at least 14 days and follow medical advice according to your local health authority. See above.
All other colleagues in office with no direct contact to the initial case or contact to the contact
person: Respect hygiene measures. No further measures needed.
ALL OTHER EMPLOYEES:

 Employees can come to the office as long they are not suffering from typical symptoms (see above):
No symptoms - No work restrictions
 In case of any flu-like symptoms:
o Stay at home
o Come back to the office after having recovered – if in doubt check with your family physician
or general practitioner
o Inform health@sap.com if any specific questions come up
Please note that local authorities’ advice supersedes SAP guidance – please follow the official rules.
In times like this, decisions need to be made on information that is available at the very moment. Be aware
that conditions may change. So, pragmatism and common sense is key.
Please watch out for the latest travel restrictions in the SAP Corporate Portal. Please discuss potential
people and business impact of these restrictions with your manager.
“Our employees’ health and wellbeing are most important,” says Stefan Ries, Chief Human Resources
Officer. “If someone doesn’t feel comfortable traveling to countries with a confirmed coronavirus case despite
the low risk, every employee is free to use our virtual technologies for meetings instead of traveling.”
Where can I find official current updates on travel?
(1) https://pandemic.internationalsos.com/2019-ncov#
(2) https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices
(3) http://en.nhc.gov.cn/ (please open in Browser with copy&paste)
(4) Situationsbericht des Auswärtigen Amts (in German only)
_________________________________________________________________________________
How this document should be used:
The situation especially regarding affected regions and case numbers is rapidly evolving. SAP Global Pandemic Task Force will update
this document when major changes occur. The information contained in this document is a summary of the latest information provided
by the World Health Organization (WHO), European Center of Disease Control (ECDC), US Center of Disease Control (CDC) and the
Robert Koch-Institute (RKI, Germany). Local Health authorities in specific countries may provide different information and/or
recommendations. The information in this document is for information purpose and cannot substitute professional advice.

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SAP Global Pandemic Task Force

Summary New Coronavirus (COVID-19)

© 2020 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. ǀ INTERNAL

3. How threatening is COVID-19?

4. What are the symptoms that COVID-19 can cause?

5. How does the virus spread?

6. How long is the incubation period?

7. How are SAP employees informed if cases at SAP are confirmed?

8. What´s the treatment?

10. How can I protect myself?

11. Do we need alcohol-based disinfection in the washrooms of our locations?

© 2020 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. ǀ INTERNAL

12. What if I observe symptoms?

15. Where can I find official current updates on the virus?

FAQ SECTION TWO: WORK FROM HOME AND TRAVEL IMPLICATIONS

© 2020 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. ǀ INTERNAL

ESPECIALLY SAP ASKS TO DEFER ALL TRAVEL:

© 2020 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. ǀ INTERNAL

RETURNING FROM WORLDWIDE TRAVEL WITHOUT CONTACT TO A CONFIRMED OR SUSPECTED

© 2020 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. ǀ INTERNAL

ALL OTHER EMPLOYEES:

Where can I find official current updates on travel?

How this document should be used:

© 2020 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. ǀ INTERNAL

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