REUTERS/Brandon Wade/File Photo
- A Google employee who was in the company's Zurich office has tested positive for the coronavirus.
- The tech firm is restricting employee travel to Italy, Iran, Japan, and South Korea.
- The infected employee was not symptomatic while they were in their office, and their current condition is unknown.
A Google employee has tested positive for the coronavirus, and the company is further restricting its employee travel as concerns around the viral outbreak grow.
On Friday, the California-based search giant emailed its employees to inform them that an employee who had been in the Zurich office has tested positive for the virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, a source familiar with the matter told Business Insider. That employee was not symptomatic while in the office.
Google is preventing employees from traveling to Iran, as well as to two Italian regions where the virus is spreading, Lombardy and Veneto. From March 2, the company will also ban travel to South Korea and Japan.
The identity and condition of the Google employee who tested positive for the coronavirus is not known at this time.
In a statement, a Google spokesperson said: "We can confirm that one employee from our Zurich office has been diagnosed with the coronavirus. They were in the Zurich office for a limited time, before they had any symptoms. We have taken - and will continue to take - all necessary precautionary measures, following the advice of public health officials, as we prioritize everyone's health and safety."
Since the coronavirus outbreak began in late 2019, nearly 83,000 people have been infected, and more than 2,800 have died.
Google is continuing to prohibit travel to China unless employees are returning home, and all international travel over the next 90 days will require review.
CNN reporter Kerry Flynn also reported on Friday that Google is cancelling its Google News Initiative Summit in the Bay Area, a conference aimed at the media industry.
This story is developing...
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