The novel coronavirus concern has gripped citizens across the globe. With the number of cases, unfortunately increasing, the COVID-19 panic is everywhere. The countries are taking drastic measures to contain the spread, and one of them is allowing employees to work from home. Tesla too asked its employees to stay back home in case they feel sick. In an email, CEO Elon Musk reportedly asked his employees to stay at home if they feel unwell or concerned about the coronavirus pandemic. Musk added that he would not miss out on being at work, but that is no compulsion for the Tesla workers. The technology entrepreneur and SpaceX designer stated after tweeting ‘coronavirus panic is dumb,’ earlier this month.

“I’d like to be super clear that if you feel the slightest bit ill or even uncomfortable, please do not feel obligated to come to work,” he wrote in the email, as reported by Reuters. “I will personally be at work, but that's just me. Totally ok if you want to stay home for any reason,” he added. The Tesla CEO noted that he is not aware of any of his employees who have tested positive for coronavirus, but will alert the company if that changes. Later in the email, Musk stated he believed that public’s fear about the COVID-19 could backfire by potentially diverting too many resources away from some with the pressing medical needs. COVID-19 Pandemic 'Prediction' from Dean Koontz 1981 Book 'The Eyes of Darkness' Along with Psychic Sylvia Browne's 'End of Days' Paragraph Are Going Viral as Conspiracy Theories. 

Musk earlier this month tweeted that “The coronavirus panic is dumb,” which garnered more than 1.7 million likes and retweeted thousands of times. The tweet created quite a controversy with netizens criticising him, targeting his millionaire status. Meanwhile, coronavirus has infected around 170,000 people around the world since it was first detected in Wuhan, China last year. The spread of the virus is rapidly increasing and to contain and combat it, has resulted in unprecedented social distancing measures around the world, travel bans, lockdowns of people and significant event cancellations.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 18, 2020 12:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).