Google confirms an employee in India tested positive for coronavirus

While countries such as Italy and Iran are struggling to contain the deadly coronavirus spread, India is one of the countries which has registered less than 100 cases. However, in a significant development, Google India confirmed last night that an employee working in its Bengaluru office has been tested positive for COVID-19.

In a statement, Google said it’s asking all employees based out of that office to work from on Friday, March 13:

We can confirm that an employee from our Bangalore office has been diagnosed with COVID-19. They were in one of our Bangalore offices for a few hours before developing any symptoms. Out of an abundance of caution, we are asking employees in that Bengaluru office to work from home tomorrow (Friday).

The company has also asked other employees who were in contact with the infected person to self-quarantine ad monitor their health.

[Read: What being a CEO has taught me about delivering bad news]

In an internal email obtained by CNBC, Anand Rangarajan, director of engineering and Bangalore site lead for the company, said the infected employee had traveled abroad but passed the screening test upon returning. However, later they were screened after feeling uncomfortable, and were tested positive for coronavirus: 

The Googler contracted the virus after traveling overseas, and was in the RMZ office on Monday, March 9, having not displayed any symptoms and passed the temperature screening.

A few hours later, the Googler felt unwell and decided to return home. They were subsequently screened at a government-authorized hospital, placed in government quarantine and today confirmed as being infected by COVID-19. We’ve been in touch with the Googler and are offering our support.

Earlier this week, two employees from Dell India were tested positive for coronavirus.

Last month, a Google worker in Zurich was confirmed to be affected by COVID-19. On Wednesday, Google asked all of its North American employees to work from home till the end of the month. Maybe, it should apply this policy worldwide as a measure of caution.