PRCAI launches online campaign to raise awareness on COVID-19

The Public Relations Consultant Association of India (PRCAI) has issued an advisory to it's members and the broader community on steps to be safe from COVID-19 infection. Their newsletter includes information on best practices and industry surveys on attitudes towards the virus.

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the country and dominates our lives, we share our concerns on its impact on business and day-to-day functioning. While India has remained relatively stable, it is now becoming clear that social distancing is essential to preventing spread of the Coronavirus. Temporary shutting down of offices and work from home is emerging as a best practice. In this scenario, we wanted to let you know what we at PRCAI are proposing steps that all are member firms may take for the health, safety and wellbeing of your staff, partners, clients and the broader community.

• Remote working for all staff
• Advice clients/media against face to face meetings
• Freeze on International travel
• Highly restricted domestic travel
• Ensuring quarantine of staff who have travelled abroad on personal trips and those who show symptoms

Many of our member firms are already adapting the above guideline. At this point we have no information of any known transmission risk in any of our PRCAI member staff, however, it is necessary for us to move to this way of working as a preventive measure and to ensure that we are safeguarding our health, reducing the risk of transmission within and outside our organisation, and for us to contribute to the broader effort to halt / slow the transmission of COVID-19.

This remains a challenging time for all of us. And we believe a lot has yet to unfold. However, it is crucial for us to not create panic and as communicators also be vary of sharing any fake news/speculative information across any social media/internal communication platforms. We are also taking advice of our friends in media like you all for the same.

For all our PRCAI member firms we are also reinforcing the availability and scope of our international network during this global pandemic. Our members may use the network, and each other, as a vehicle for information and ideas sharing.

The latest ICCO Newsletter is here with information on:

• Coronavirus crisis best practice webinar
• Recent surveys conducted by the industry (PRCA, IPR)
• Call for Global Taskforce volunteers
• Tips on how agencies around the world are responding (PRovoke, IOIC)

PRCAI is available for all members firms and media to bring in any issues and to reach out to authorities if required. We are also contemplating running an online campaign extolling people to stay home and practice social distancing.

If there is something your organisation has created or that you are aware of that could be of use to the PRCAI members, please do share and we will regularly circulate these resources.

Be safe. We are trying to make sure that we are doing the same.