Twitter staff ordered 'mandatory' work from home amid coronavirus outbreak

Amid coronavirus dread, social media giant, Twitter has ordered a 'mandatory' work from home for all their staff globally in a bid to contain the spread of the virus. The outbreak has already affected more than 100 countries and over 126,000 people have been infected with the deadly disease. As the number of cases are increasing rapidly, the company moved beyond their earlier guidance of 'strongly encouraging work from home' to 'must work from home'. 

Twitter's human resource chief Jennifer Christie in a blog post said, “Our top priority remains the health and safety of our Tweeps, and we also have a responsibility to support our communities, those who are vulnerable, and the healthcare providers who are on the front lines of this pandemic.”

She further added, “We are moving beyond our earlier guidance of 'strongly encouraging work from home' provided on March 2 and have now informed all employees globally they must work from home”. 

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Other internet giants have also brought in their own policies to protect their staff from infection. Earlier this week, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft also advised their employees to work from home. Google has also been restricting visits to its offices in Silicon Valley, San Francisco and New York and Apple has also encouraged employees to work from home. On the other hand, Washington State Department also issued an advisory to all employers in the state and instructed them to maximize teleworking wherever possible.

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'Pandemic'

The deadly outbreak has led to leaders around the world to roll out bans on big gatherings and stricter travel restrictions. The outbreak has also disrupted flight demand and several airlines have also suspended or modified services in response. Governments worldwide have stepped up efforts to halt the spread of the virus as it has already affected so many countries.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the coronavirus as a global pandemic after the virus spread to 114 countries, resulting in the deaths of more than 4,500 people worldwide. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom further even urged all nations to get very serious over the issue and take all necessary measures to contain the virus from spreading at this rate. Tedros said, that the word "Pandemic" cannot be used lightly or carelessly due to its strong connotation. 

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