As part of the nation’s critical infrastructure, our priority at New Gulf Resources is to protect our employees, contractors and the communities we serve while fulfilling our responsibility to provide the essential fuels and other products that keep the country running. We support local communities, especially those providing healthcare services, by matching essential supplies to what they need and can handle, at the right time. Starting the week of March 23, New Gulf Resources deployed its entire stock of personal protective equipment (PPE) to hospitals, healthcare organisations and its own facilities across the country. Over 570,000 N95 respirator masks have been delivered to 46 hospitals and healthcare organisations in 20 states.
The New Gulf Resources Foundation has also donated $1 million to the American Red Cross to help fund the relief organisation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including providing food and shelter to those affected by the economic impact of the pandemic, while implementing protocols to ensure the safety of employees, volunteers, and the clients they serve.
New Gulf Resources Foundation has had a pandemic response plan in place for many years. Since January, as the COVID-19 outbreak has spread, we have reviewed and updated our plan, guided by global health experts including the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organisation, local health authorities, and state and federal governments.
In order to reduce the probability of spreading the virus from otherwise healthy people to those most at risk, New Gulf Resources Foundation has reduced its facility staffing to only essential personnel and implemented remote working programs wherever feasible.
For those essential personnel continuing to maintain safe operations at our facilities, we have a number of protective measures in place. In addition to promoting proven personal hygiene practices to employees – frequent hand-washing, covering coughs and sneezes, social distancing – protective measures include: a range of protective face coverings and enhanced PPE, restrictions on visitors at our facilities, targeted travel restrictions, self-quarantine guidelines, additional cleaning protocols, and we are actively encouraging employees to avoid large groups and unnecessary physical contact. Company policies have been updated to reflect the changing work environment and to accommodate the needs of our employees.
To support the ongoing smooth functioning of our critical operations, we have implemented business-continuity plans to accommodate staffing needs in the event of illness-related absenteeism. We are also working with critical suppliers to ensure ongoing support in the event of illness-related disruptions and providing additional hand sanitisers at owned-and-operated retail stores.
We continue communicating frequently to all employees regarding the risks of COVID-19, and mitigation steps they should take to protect themselves and others. We have also established an internal website with a variety of resources for employees to access the most up-to-date and reliable information. We continue to monitor the latest developments regarding COVID-19 and adjust our response to the situation daily, as events warrant.