People walk in Google’s New York offices
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A Google employee has tested positive for the coronavirus at its office in Zurich, the company confirmed Friday.
“We can confirm that one employee from our Zurich office has been diagnosed with the coronavirus. They were in the Zurich office for a limited time, before they had any symptoms,” a Google spokesperson confirmed to CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa. “We have taken — and will continue to take — all necessary precautionary measures, following the advice of public health officials, as we prioritize everyone’s health and safety.”
Google had 118,899 employees as of Dec. 31, 2019.
The case, which was sent out to employees in a notification email, was first reported by Business Insider.
Nearly 84,000 people have been infected so far with the fast spreading coronavirus, while at least 2,859 people have died. The virus, named COVID-19, was discovered in China on Dec. 31 and has since spread to at least 48 countries.
Companies across the globe are enforcing measures to stop potential spread of the flu-like virus. Amazon has started restricting all non-essential employee travel in the U.S. and has restricted all travel to China “until further notice.”
Several major tech companies have also pulled out from attending or cancelled conferences scheduled through May. Earlier this month, organizers of the Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest trade show for the mobile phone industry, canceled the Barcelona, Spain-based event just two weeks before it was supposed to occur. Facebook canceled its San Francisco-based Global Marketing Summit, which was to expected draw 4,000 people in early March, “out of an abundance of caution.” Facebook, Sony and Amazon also pulled out of March’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
This story is developing.