Coronavirus: London staff sent home at Deloitte after worker tests positive for virus

Chief executive Richard Houston calls incident ‘unsettling’ as tenth floor of main UK office subject to ‘deep cleaning’

Samuel Lovett
Wednesday 04 March 2020 12:01 GMT
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Employees at a major accountant firm in central London have been told to work from home after a member of staff tested positive for coronavirus following a trip to Asia.

Deloitte announced on Tuesday that it was “deep cleaning” one floor of its main UK office in Holborn, where it employs about 20,000 people, following confirmation of the case.

The employee, who has been in self-isolation since 26 February after falling ill on their return from Japan, is currently receiving “good care in hospital”, Richard Houston, chief executive, said in an email.

Mr Houston described the incident as “unsettling” but reassured employees that Deloitte was working with Public Health England on its response.

Staff on the tenth floor, where the infected employee worked, were told to “go home with immediate effect” on Tuesday. The rest of Deloitte’s London campus at 1 New Street Square remains open, though staff have been given the option to work from home if they wish.

Mr Houston also warned “all people working on the London Campus ... to limit non-essential movement between buildings”.

“We have also cancelled or moved all events due to take place in 1NSS tomorrow [Wednesday],” he added.

One member of staff told The Independent: “I’m happy they mounted a quick response and told people from the floor to quarantine themselves.

“I’m not getting too worked up about things. It’s likely multiple people went to the same floor but, what can you do. It’s nobody’s fault.”

A spokesperson said: “Deloitte has been closely monitoring and managing the Covid-19 situation in order to respond as necessary. The health and safety of our people and clients is our top priority.

“We continue to monitor the situation and will adjust our guidance as necessary.”

Deloitte is the second major London employer, after US oil company Chevron, to send workers home due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.

This comes as Chris Whitty, England and Wales’ chief medical officer, warned that the UK will probably see a significant number of cases and “some deaths”in the next six weeks

To date, the UK has confirmed 53 infections, with thousands others tested for the pathogen.

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