Employees at Facebook and Amazon in Seattle have tested positive for the new coronavirus, leading both companies to close their offices and instruct staff to work from home to avoid contamination.
The tech companies have confirmed that they each have one employee who has tested positive for the virus, officially termed COVID-19, according to CNBC.
The Amazon employee was diagnosed with the virus after beginning to feel symptoms on Feb. 25, the outlet reported from a company-wide Amazon email.
Those who worked directly with the employee were notified.
“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 said in a statement via CNN.
Facebook’s Seattle hub has also shut down its office, noting that a contractor for the company tested positive and was last at the facility on Feb. 21.
“We’ve notified our employees and are following the advice of public health officials to prioritize everyone’s health and safety,” the social media company said in a statement.
As of Thursday, there are 158 cases of coronavirus and 11 deaths from coronavirus-related illnesses in the United States. Washington’s King County, which encompasses Seattle, has seen one of the highest rates of infection nationwide, with 32 cases and nine deaths after an outbreak at a long-term nursing facility just outside of the city.
Ten of the U.S. deaths have been in Washington state and the eleventh was confirmed in California Wednesday. California has the most coronavirus cases of any state, with 54 as of March 5.
Several other states announced their first cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, including Utah and North Carolina, and others reported additional cases — New York is now up to 13.
Worldwide, there are over 96,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus with most occurring in China, though new cases there have slowed.
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