Coronavirus impact: Twitter asks 5,000 employees to work from home

As coronavirus spreads across the world, Twitter has asked over 5,000 of its employees to work from home. The San Francisco-based social media giant has said it was operating out of "caution" and utmost dedication to keep its employees healthy. "Beginning today, we are strongly encouraging all employees globally to work from home if they're able. Our goal is to lower the probability of the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus for us - and the world around us," Twitter said.

The company is also ensuring that internal meetings and important tasks are optimised for remote participation.

The company has, however, clarified those who can't work from home can come to offices. "We recognise that working from home is not ideal for some job functions. For those employees who prefer or need to come into the offices, they will remain open for business," Twitter maintained.

Working from home will also be mandatory for employees based in our Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea offices due to government restrictions in these nations. "Our criteria will evolve over time as we get more information, and we will communicate to affected Tweeps as appropriate," Twitter said.

Also read: Coronavirus updates: Two new COVID-19 cases confirmed in Delhi, Telangana

The company has also called off its Southwest conference scheduled to be held in Austin, Texas, later this month.

Besides, Twitter said it's also an opportunity for the social media giant to work towards the remote and distributed workforce. "While this is a big change for us, we have already been moving towards a more distributed workforce that's increasingly remote. We're a global service and we're committed to enabling anyone, anywhere to work at Twitter," the company has said.

Soon after the company's announcement, #webackjack started trending on Twitter, with several employees praising founder and Chief Executive Jack Dorsey for prioritising employees' health.

Also read: Delhi coronavirus patient attended birthday party; many children present

The coronavirus death toll in China climbed to 2,943 with 31 more deaths, while 125 confirmed cases were reported on Monday, the lowest since the virus outbreak in the country. The deadly disease has wreaked havoc globally with the total number of deaths crossing 3,000 and infections surging past 89,000.

Edited by Manoj Sharma

Also read: Coronavirus: Noida school to remain shut till March 9 as panic spreads