Report on the general information and discussion meeting about the novel coronavirus

In view of the ongoing outbreak spreading across the world, the Institut Pasteur senior management team held a general information and discussion meeting on the topic yesterday, Thursday March 5, with the aim of informing staff and answering their questions. A great many of you attended the meeting, both in person and on-stream.

Stewart Cole, President of the Institut Pasteur, opened the meeting and outlined its goals:

• To provide everybody with more information about the outbreak thanks to insights from the Institut Pasteur’s experts

• To communicate about the Institut Pasteur’s action and response to the outbreak

• To discuss the impact of the outbreak on our daily lives, both on and off campus

During the first part of the meeting four experts (Arnaud Fontanet, Bruno Hoen, Sylvie Van der Werf and Christophe d’Enfert) took to the floor, providing an overview of the epidemiological situation and information about the action of the National Reference Center (CNR) for Respiratory Viruses, the Laboratory for Urgent Response to Biological Threats (CIBU), and the Task Force and the OITF. This was followed by a question and answer session to allow attendees to ask medical and scientific questions.

Nathalie Denoyés, Vice-President Technical Resources and Environment, and Odile Hermabessière, Vice-President Human Resources, then spoke about the guidelines that have been adopted on campus – business continuity plan (BCP), hygiene recommendations, the working environment, measures for working from home, remote computer access, etc.

After these presentations, a question and answer session was held to address employees' questions about the impact of the outbreak on their personal and professional lives.

The meeting was streamed live in its entirety. You can view or review it by clicking the link below using the identifiers provided (VOD access possible until March 13).
Link: https://streaming.liveness.tv/pasteur/
User: pasteur
Password: livestream

Many of you asked questions directly or via the email address questionsDG@pasteur.fr. An FAQ on the real-life impact of the outbreak on campus (working conditions, movements on campus, etc.) is currently being prepared. It will soon be available on the dedicated Webcampus page.

You may continue to send your questions to: questionsDG@pasteur.fr

For further information about the novel coronavirus, read the Institut Pasteur fact sheet