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Roughly a year ago the United State's financial sector conducted a massive multi-week pandemic drill, sponsored by the Department of the Treasury, which tested the resiliency of our banking and financial centers during a crisis.
Overviews of that drill can be viewed here and here.
Today, Singapore kicks off their own 2-week long drill, as detailed in this story from Channel NewsAsia.
Financial sector kicks off two-week drill to handle flu pandemic
By Nicholas Fang, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 28 August 2008 2144 hrs
Singapore's Central Business District
SINGAPORE: Banks in Singapore are gearing up to handle a potential flu outbreak which could see up to 40 per cent of their staff being absent from work.
To test the financial sector's preparedness to handle a flu pandemic scenario, the industry started a two-week exercise on Thursday.
The drill is organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore, along with government agencies.
Codenamed Exercise Raffles II, it builds on the first industry-wide drill conducted two years ago.
At that time, the key threat was a terrorist attack. Banks and other financial institutions in Singapore were then able to practise their contingency plans to handle such a crisis over the course of one day.
Exercise Raffles II started with a simulated outbreak of flu that is supposedly being spread efficiently between humans. This was then upgraded to a widespread pandemic.
Upon receiving the scenarios, banks began planning their appropriate responses. These include closing some branches due to a shortage of manpower and also to cut down transmission risks.
Some off-site cash machines will also have to be turned off as there are not enough staff to top them up. Groups of staff will also be split up to work in separate locations to minimise the spread of disease.
The planning will carry on for another week. Next Friday morning, practice drills will be carried out at branches of financial institutions in the Central Business District.
Temperature screening will be carried out at participating outlets and counter staff will be wearing face masks until 11am when the drill ends.
The Association of Banks in Singapore urges the public to cooperate during the drills on September 5.
- CNA/ir
