Canary Wharf office of US oil company Chevron sends home 300 workers over coronavirus fears after employee reports flu-like symptoms
- Chevron Corp yesterday asked about 300 British employees to work from home
- Traders, exploration and refining unit staff were all assigned to work remotely
- A spokesman for Chevron said the company ‘continues to monitor the situation’
Chevron Corp on Tuesday asked about 300 British employees to work temporarily from home after an employee in its Canary Wharf office in London reported a flu-like illness.
Traders, exploration and refining unit staff were assigned to work remotely until test results can determine whether the worker has coronavirus, said a person familiar with the matter.
‘Chevron continues to monitor the situation very closely, utilizing the guidance of international and local health authorities,’ said a Chevron spokeswoman.
‘Our primary concern is the health and safety of our employees and we are taking precautionary measures to reduce their risk of exposure. It is our policy to not provide details of our employees.’
Chevron Corp on Tuesday asked about 300 British employees to work temporarily from home after an employee in its Canary Wharf office in London reported a flu-like illness
It comes as eight UK schools have now been shut down and at least 18 more have sent pupils into quarantine at home for a fortnight after half term ski trips to coronavirus-hit Italy.
Public Health England is not advising schools to close but headteachers have taken evasive action after some staff and students came down with ‘mild flu-like symptoms’ after returning from the Alps.
One primary school in Essex is closed as a precaution today because a teacher was in Italy over half term – even though the worker is not ill.
A ‘worst case’ Government report predicting 80 per cent of Britons could catch it and 500,000 may die emerged today – and England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said schools could be shut en masse if coronavirus gets out of control in Britain.