Coronavirus in Seattle: Microsoft employees in Seattle test positive for Covid-19, quarantined

Days after US tech giant Microsoft encouraged its employees to work from home as the deadly novel coronavirus outbreak continues to spread worldwide, a New York Times correspondent on Friday, March 6, confirmed that two of its employees in Seattle area have contracted Covid-19.

The software giant is reportedly supporting the two affected employees who have been quarantined. "The affected employees remain in quarantine, and we are supporting them as they recover," Microsoft executive Kurt DelBene said in an email to the employees.

Microsoft allows employees to work from home

On Thursday, Microsoft promised to pay normal hourly wages to non-employees providing services to Microsoft workers, such as bus drivers and cafeteria workers, who might else receive less pay while many of the firm's employees spend the next few weeks working from home to keep away from the deadly coronavirus.

"We recognize the hardship that lost work can mean for hourly employees," Brad Smith, Microsoft's president and chief legal officer, wrote in a blog post recently.

The software giant has updated its guidelines for employees, allowing anyone based in Seattle or San Francisco to work from home through March 25th. Microsoft is also recommending that those who are feeling sick, have a compromised immune system, or have had contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 (the disease caused by the novel coronavirus) should work from home.

Amazon, Google, Facebook ask employees to work from home

Amazon has informed its employees based in Seattle that it wants them to work from home until the end of March. The decision comes after Amazon confirmed on March 2nd that one of its Seattle-based employees was quarantined with the deadly coronavirus. That employee left work on February 25th and hasn't returned yet.

Google has also asked its employees in Washington state to not bring visitors to its Washington-based offices.

Meanwhile, Facebook has shut down one of its Seattle offices after a contractor tested positive for Covid-19, and it's encouraging the firm's 5,000 Seattle-based employees to work from home until March end.

Meanwhile, global coronavirus cases cross 97,510-mark, including 3,345 deaths. Several tech firms have asked their Seattle-based employees to work from home to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus or Covid-19.