Press Release - State of Emergency in Portugal

In order to protect its employees and their families and communities, Corticeira Amorim has been updating its Contingency Plan since March 2, aimed at preventing and mitigating the risks associated with the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The Contingency Plan has been prepared, executed and monitored by a multi-task team specially created for this purpose, and includes a set of wide-ranging measures, in line with the recommendations issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as the guidelines issued by the Directorate General Health (DGS). In parallel, Corticeira Amorim's Contingency Plan also covers further complementary rules that we believe are fundamental to ensure the permanent well-being of all our employees, the operation of the various industrial units and the continuity of numerous business activities. In this way, we are also making sure that we will be able to respond to our customers’ needs, spread across five continents, without any interruptions. It should be added that our Contingency Plan, coordinated by the COVID-19 Emergency Group, is reviewed, reinforced and updated daily, taking into account the evolution of the pandemic. In order to keep our various stakeholders informed, we list the main measures of our Contingency Plan:

1. Contingency Plan (in accordance with the guidelines issued by the DGS)

1. Isolation rooms: identification and preparation of isolation rooms, as well as procedures to be adopted in the event that employees show any symptoms; in each work centre / company an isolation room is available, to be able to react to any situations of symptoms of Covid-19.
2. Quarantines of employees who have returned from any areas of risk - this measure is specific to the company.
3. Quarantines for employees who have had a first level indirect contact with a patient with a confirmed infection - this measure is specific to the company.

2. Access to premises

• Restriction of visits to and from customers.
• Control of access in the entrance gates, with designated areas for external workers (drivers, suppliers).
• Staggered entry and exit of shifts and sectors, in order to avoid crowding.
• Temperature measurement - (to be implemented from 23 March) - temperature measurement at the entrance. If a person’s temperature is above 37.5 ºC this implies that the employee / VISITOR will not work, and health protection mechanisms will be activated (Portugal’s National Health Service will be contacted).

3. Meal spaces

• Reduction in the number of places in the canteen and staggered meal times, in order to avoid a large concentration of people.
• Staggered times and limitation in the number of people in the snack rooms and a temporary ban on communal coffee areas.

4. Reinforced hygiene measures in the workplace

• Increased frequency of cleaning the premises with specific disinfection products.
• Individualised cleaning / disinfection of workstations between shifts.
• Disinfectant (alcohol gel) available at various points in the companies, so that employees can proceed with periodic disinfections.

5. Business trips

• Maximum travel restrictions (there should be no business trips, as far as possible).

6. Socialisation rules

• Postponement of training initiatives that imply group presence.
• Restriction and limitation of face-to-face meetings and the number of people in a meeting per room.
• Snack rooms with schedule restrictions and limited number of people, depending on the size of the room.

7. Teleworking

• Implementation of teleworking - modality adopted by a large part of administrative and technical support structures, thereby minimising the presence of operational support functions.

8. Business continuity plans

• All Business Units have defined and activated specific plans that include alternatives for different scenarios.

9. Communication

• Communication Campaign - indicating measures for individual self-protection; meetings; awareness and training.