Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic

Hand washing and disinfection are key to preventing infection. Hands should be washed frequently and thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are unavailable, a disinfectant containing at least 60 % of alcohol should be used. The virus enters the body through one’s eyes, nose and mouth, so these areas should not be touched with unclean hands. In addition, smoking cessation reduces the risk of developing a severe pulmonary disease caused by the new coronavirus. Handshakes, hugging and kissing are best avoided, while a distance of at least one meter should be maintained during conversations. It is also advised to walk and cycle as much as possible, while public transport should be avoided. Moreover, large groups of people and public gatherings should be avoided.

Many people are working from home these days (so-called smart working) to reduce the risk of contagion, which gives employees a sense of security, thus affecting the quality of their job responsibilities. In such cases, it is important to ensure the continuity of work and to prevent possible problems. Marti Farm has taken all necessary measures to ensure smooth workflow, and our employees have already welcomed working from home. Case processing remains at an expert level thanks to the validated pharmacovigilance database Sympto®. During this difficult period of the COVID-19 virus pandemic worldwide, we decided to enable a 2-month FREE use of Sympto® to companies which cannot process cases, track literature or do their normal daily pharmacovigilance work. We want to help you with not worrying about how your employees will do their work successfully from home. Sympto® is accessible through all web browsers as well as Android and Mac devices. It can process and send cases in multiple formats, track literature monitoring activities globally and locally and summarise data into activity reports, which can be downloaded as PDF files.

Each of us can contribute to the current situation and the further course of events by behaving responsibly and listening to expert recommendations, thereby keeping ourselves and others safe. Lastly, let’s not forget health care professionals, who are making countless efforts each day to remedy this difficult situation: thank you so much for all your hard work and dedication!