In order to slow down the spread of COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus, Google has asked its North American employees to work from home.
According to an email from Google, all of its North American offices are recommended to work from home if the roles allow for it, but the offices remain open for employees who are still required to go in.
Google said their goal is to reduce the density of people in their offices according to expert advice that indicates it may slow down the spread of coronavirus and reduce the burden on health resources.
Google employs nearly 120,000 people, over 1,500 of which are in Canada.
The tech giant has already taken measures to ensure that its workers have the support they need amidst the coronavirus outbreak. Last week the company said that they would pay food and custodian staff for the hours they would have worked had Google not reduced office schedules and been operating normally.
Google announced yesterday that they have created a COVID-19 fund that will allow its vendors and temporary staff to take paid sick leave if they have symptoms of coronavirus, or if they are quarantined.
They also said that the fund will cover the commitment Google made last week.
The World Health Organization called the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic earlier today. As of publishing this story there are 119,000 cases of coronavirus and 4,200 people have died from the virus.
Canada has reported 101 cases of coronavirus as of Wednesday morning.
This morning, Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau announced a $1 billion package to help Canadians deal with the coronavirus outbreak.
With files from CBC News
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