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COVID-19 (NOVEL CORONAVIRUS) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Updated 17th September

In the current phase of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the infection risk varies greatly by region and
country and we are moving to a new way of managing within AZ, where the decisions on safety
measures will be delegated to local Country Presidents and Site Heads, with advice from the global
IMT when sought.

As such, our global FAQ covers critical global topics only, and for more specific questions, employees
should refer to their local guidance.

If you have a question which is not addressed in this document, raise it with your manager or local
SHE representative, contact details for which can be found here.

*Please note that purple text signifies areas of substantial update.

Q1. When should I stay home from the workplace?

You should always stay home from the workplace when you are feeling ill and notify your
manager that you will be out of work. You should also stay home if you have had a positive COVID-
19 test or if you have been in close contact with someone who is known to have COVID-19 or has
symptoms of COVID-19. You should inform your local SHE representative.

Consider talking to a healthcare professional or one of the AZ telehealth providers, if available, to

discuss your symptoms to understand how likely they are to represent a COVID-19 infection and
whether you should have a test.

Q2. When can I return to work?

If you have been out of the workplace due to illness, whether suspected COVID-19 or not, you
should follow local guidance which will help you determine when you can safely return. Generally,
you are considered no longer infectious after 10 days from start of symptoms, if your fever has been
gone for 48 hours and your other symptoms are improving. Please see Q15-17 for full guidance.

Q3. Is COVID-19 assessment available for all AstraZeneca employees?

While countries are ramping up their testing capacity, AZ is also ramping up its ability to provide
COVID-19 assessments for all employees. As capacity increases, on a site by site basis we are
beginning to be able to offer COVID-19 assessments to more employees.

As part of our efforts to ensure the safety of all employees returning to the office, we expect all
employees to take advantage of COVID-19 assessments when they are offered. Where AZ
assessments are available, for example at Global hubs, these should ideally be conducted weekly.
As part of the continuous improvement initiative by the assessment team, please immediately
report any issues with PCR or antibody assessments accessed locally through AstraZeneca using
the following email address: internalcovid19assessements@astrazeneca.com.

These assessments will tell individuals if COVID-19 can be detected in their respiratory samples.
They do not determine whether an individual has had COVID-19 previously or provide information
on immunity. Individuals who are eligible for the assessments will be notified by their line
manager or local site leader and asked to complete an online questionnaire.

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See questions 15 and 16 for what to do if your assessment is positive.

Q4. What onsite and offsite meetings are permitted?

No internal international meetings are permitted until the end of October, at the earliest.

External regional meetings may be acceptable with Country President or local Site Head approval,
taking into account the safety of the venue, local infection rates, numbers of individuals attending,
ability to manage masks and physical distancing, and locations from which they will attend.

While internal-only onsite meetings are permissible, please follow your local country guidance and
use your best judgement regarding any gathering. Where possible, onsite meetings should also be
moved to be hosted virtually. You should ensure that no meeting occurs that requires people to be
close together. We need to ensure we maintain physical distancing (i.e. more than 6ft/2m) between
people on campus.

Q5. What do I need to take into consideration if my job requires field-based activities, such as
customer visits or clinical site monitoring?

Decisions regarding field-based commercial, medical and clinical activities will be made by Country
Presidents and Site Heads on a market-by-market basis, based on consultation with the local Issues
Management Team.

These decisions should take into account the safety of the venue, local infection rates, numbers of
individuals attending, and locations from which they will attend. You should ensure that no meeting
occurs that requires people to be close together, maintaining physical distancing (i.e. more than
6ft/2m) between attendees.

Q6. What business travel is currently permissible for employees?

Internal international meetings are currently banned and non-essential international travel is
prohibited until the end of October, at the earliest. SET approval is required for essential travel.
Essential travel is determined by the following criteria: a meeting cannot take place virtually and
there is a significant or critical risk to our pipeline, patient access to medicines, or our business.

Please note that exceptions to this are now in-place:

• For travel between European countries, with a manager’s permission, and with appropriate
adherence to local market quarantine measures.
• For area-level market and cluster travel in the International region (e.g. Asia Area, Middle
East Africa, LATAM, Russia/Eurasia, Australia/NZ, China/HK), with permission from the
relevant Area VP or International Leadership Team Country President or General Manager,
with appropriate adherence to local market quarantine measures. However, cross-area
international travel continues to require SET-level approval.

Decisions regarding domestic travel will be made and communicated locally by Country Presidents
and Site Heads based on consultation with the local Issues Management Team, and informed by
local government rules and infection rate trends.

Q7. Do I need to wear a mask at the workplace/in the field?

Decisions regarding the wearing of face masks will be made and communicated locally by Country
Presidents and Site Heads based on consultation with the local Issues Management Team, and

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informed by local government rules and infection rate trends. If mask use is required at a site, it
must be an AZ provided surgical or cloth mask to ensure minimal quality standards.

At most sites, you may remove the mask to eat or drink if you are at least six feet away from
others, and you may remove the mask if you are in a room by yourself. Anytime you leave a room
where you have taken your mask off, you are responsible for thoroughly wiping all surfaces in the
room to ensure the safety of those who follow you.

The value of a mask is to prevent you from infecting others. SARS- CoV-2 has an especially high rate
of transmission that is occurring from asymptomatic individuals before they know they are infected.
The virus can be spread by small respiratory particles just from breathing. A simple review of the
principles was published in Science (accessible here) and includes a reference for cloth mask quality.

Proper mask wearing requires vigilance to avoid breathing out around it (it should be firm over
your nose and mouth) to avoid infecting others. To protect yourself from others, you should avoid
touching your mask and your face.

Q8. When should I expect to be returning to the workplace?

Decisions associated with returning to the workplace will be made and communicated locally by
Country Presidents and Site Heads based on consultation with the local Issues Management Team,
and informed by local government rules and infection rate trends.

Q9. I have children which makes working a ‘normal’ day from home difficult however I could work
flexibly and share child care duties if I can work outside of core working hours. Is this okay?

If you can perform your work from home in a productive way – and manage your childcare (through
being flexible/juggling your hours/sharing the burden with family etc) then you should do so. Review
your intended working pattern with your line manager and build in regular reviews.

Q10. Which ‘underlying health conditions’ put people in the higher risk category for COVID-19?

The CDC and literature reviews indicate that some people have increased risk such as people of an
older age, or those living with a serious chronic medical condition such as heart disease,
immunocompromise, renal disease, diabetes or lung disease, and those who are pregnant. Follow
local government public health recommendations if you are at higher risk of serious illness as a
result of contracting COVID-19.

Q11. I have an underlying health condition that places me at greater risk of serious complications
should I become infected with COVID-19. On that basis, am I able to work from home?

Recognising the increased risk of COVID-19 to those with underlying health conditions, any
employees with an underlying health condition should speak with their primary care physician and
follow any local, national or regional IMT guidance. Your line manager can help you to put in place
arrangements for you to work from home if needed.

Q12. What is AstraZeneca doing to support colleagues through this stressful period of change?

We understand that the current situation is uncertain and may cause people to feel anxious. We ask
you all to take care of your physical and mental wellbeing. Your local SHE or HR teams can provide

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further information on what is available in your country, but we would highlight several free and
virtual services available including:

• The AZ Mental Health e-book for GES: this brings together useful information and resources
for mental wellbeing available by country. We are working on additional aides and guides for
line managers and employees which will be made available soon. The e-book can be found
here.

• Virtual Coffee Chat: Our Safe Space Employee Resource Group has set up several virtual
coffee chats for employees to come together and offer informal support. They can be
accessed via the Safe Space Workplace Group.

• AZ Manager Essentials: Our new resource for line managers has useful information about
wellbeing and resilience.

Q13. What progress is AstraZeneca making in helping to develop treatments and vaccines?

We are engaged in multiple scientific efforts to both treat and prevent the further spread of COVID-
19, including with a number of partners. These include:

• Our collaboration with the University of Oxford on a potential recombinant adenovirus

vaccine
• The development of a monoclonal antibody for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19
infections
• A number of ongoing studies, including ACCORD (Accelerating COVID-19 Research &
Development), the RECOVERY trial, CALAVI (CALquence Against the CoronaVIrus) and DARE-
19 (Dapagliflozin in Respiratory Failure in Patients With COVID-19).

Q14. What are the best resources to use to find out up-to-date information about COVID-19?

Trusted sources for up-to-date information are:

• World Health Organization
• US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
• Country/state public health departments, such as Gov.UK, sources in EU/EEA countries

Return to Workplace Strategies

Please note that this guidance may be superseded by local guidelines from your Country President or
Site Head, based on consultation with the local Issues Management Team, and informed by local
government rules and infection rate trends.

Q15. I have been self-isolating because I was experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. When can I
return to the workplace?

If you have been ill with symptoms of COVID-19 there are two ways you can return to the workplace.
Both strategies can be used whether you were self-isolating based on symptoms and a positive test
OR if you were self-isolating based on COVID-19 symptoms without a test.
Time-based strategy:

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• You have had no fever for at least 48 hours (that is two full days of no fever without the use
of medicine that reduces fevers), AND

• other symptoms have improved (for example, when your cough or shortness of breath
have improved), AND

• at least 10 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared.

Put another way, if you had symptoms on Day 1, but they disappeared by Day 3, you could return to
the workplace on Day 11.
Test-based strategy:
• You have had no fever for at least 24 hours (without the use of medicine that reduces fever)
• Your respiratory symptoms such as cough have improved
• You have had a negative COVID-19 test/assessment.
Put another way, if you had symptoms on Day 1, but they disappeared by Day 3, and you had a
COVID-19 test on Day 4 , you could return to the workplace when the negative test result was
reported to you.

Q16. I have never had any symptoms, but I had a positive test/assessment. When can I return to
the workplace?

If you have never had any symptoms but you had a positive COVID-19 test/assessment, there are
two strategies that can be used to return to the workplace.
Time-based strategy:
• You have never had any symptoms
• At least 10 days have passed since you had a positive test/assessment.
Test-based strategy:
• You have never had any symptoms
• At least seven days have passed since you had a positive COVID-19 test/assessment and you
have had a negative follow up test.

Q17. I was in close contact* or live with someone with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-
19. When can I return to the workplace?

If you became ill with symptoms of COVID-19 (which are most commonly elevated temperature or
new respiratory symptoms), you can return to the workplace based on the two strategies referenced
in Question 15.

If you have had no symptoms, there are two strategies that can be used to return to the workplace:

Time-based Strategy:
• You have not developed any symptoms
• 14 days have passed since your last close contact with a confirmed or suspected case. You
may consider speaking with a healthcare professional or one of AZ’s telehealth providers,
where possible, to consider the likelihood that you were exposed to COVID-19, which might
enable you to return to work earlier.

Test-based Strategy:

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• If you have not developed any symptoms

• 7 days have passed since your last contact with a confirmed or suspected case
• You have had a negative COVID-19 test/assessment on day 7 or later
• You agree to wear a mask at all times in the workplace and monitor yourself for symptoms
of illness for 14 days from your last contact.

* Close contact is defined as being unprotected within approximately 6 feet (2 meters) of a COVID-19
case (i.e. either not wearing a face mask, wearing a face mask incorrectly or coughing/sneezing
whilst wearing a face mask) for a prolonged period of time (>15min) during the period from 48
hours before illness onset and onwards.