Canary Wharf coronavirus alert as Chevron tells 300 staff to work from home

26 February 2020, 11:36

US oil firm Chevron told 300 staff at its City HQ to work from home yesterday.

The decision was made after one employee who had recently returned from an affected area reported flu-like symptoms.

The worker has been sent for testing, according to the Financial Times.

The firm’s staff based at the Canary Wharf office will work from home until the results are known.

The company said it would “continue to monitor the situation very closely, utilising the guidance of international and local health authorities” and it was “taking precautionary measures to reduce their risk of exposure”.

Meanwhile, schools across the UK have closed to protect against coronavirus, despite health officials recommending that they should stay open.

At least six have closed, while others have sent pupils home amid fears they may have been exposed to coronavirus during trips to northern Italy.

But Public Health England (PHE) said that its general advice is not to close schools.

The closures come after travellers returning to the UK from northern Italy were told they may need to self-isolate as part of measures to stop the spread of illness.

Fears are intensifying over the spread of coronavirus in Europe as France reported its second death and the number of people in Italy with the virus continues to climb.

Authorities in Italy have reported that the number of people infected in the country grew to 322, or up 45% in 24 hours, and 11 people have now died.

Austria, Croatia and Switzerland also reported their first cases linked to the outbreak in Italy, while Spain and France recorded new ones, also involving people who had been to northern Italy.

France recorded its second death, a 60-year-old Frenchman who died in a Paris hospital.

The first positive test in South America has also been recorded in a 61-year-old Brazilian man who had recently been to northern Italy.