Washington, March 5: Social media giant Facebook and e-commerce behemoth Amazon asked its employees at the workplaces in Seattle to work from home amid the coronavirus scare. The decision was taken after one COVID-19 positive case was recorded each in the offices of Amazon and Facebook. COVID-19 Outbreak FAQs: What is Coronavirus? How Many Have Died? How It Spreads and Other Top Questions Answered.

Amazon had earlier this week confirmed that one of their employees has contracted the deadly disease, which rampantly spreading in the United States. A statement was also issued by Facebook on Wednesday, confirming that a contractor employed by them has tested positive to nCoV-2019 virus.

"We've notified our employees and are following the advice of public health officials to prioritize everyone's health and safety," Facebook said in a statement. The Seattle-based facility was last visited by the infected contractor on February 21.

Both Facebook and Amazon want their employees to work from home for the remainder of March. "We are recommending that employees in Seattle [and] Bellevue who are able to work from home do so through the end of the month," an Amazon spokesperson was reported as saying.

 

The US, which was considered to be largely immune to coronavirus, recorded a spurt in cases with the onset of March. Over 100 people have been infected across the country, with 11 deaths confirmed so far. Most of the fatalities were reported in the Washington state.

Worldwide, over 94,000 cases of coronavirus were detected till March 5, with the number of casualties surging to nearly 3,200 -- the bulk of which has been reported in China's Wuhan. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called upon all countries across the globe to scale up their efforts in curbing the spread of coronavirus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 05, 2020 06:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).