Google has announced that it would be temporarily shutting down all of its China offices due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the company confirmed to The Verge on Wednesday.
The shutdown includes all offices in mainland China, as well as Google’s offices in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Currently, offices are closed for the extended Lunar New Year holiday, a measure taken by the Chinese government to help reduce the spread of the virus by encouraging residents to stay indoors and avoid traveling.
A Google spokesperson says the company now plans to keep its offices closed in accordance with the government guidance, and it’s also placed temporary business travel restrictions on flying to mainland China and Hong Kong.
The company has also advised employees currently in China, and employees who have immediate family members returning from the country, to return home as soon as possible and to work from home for at least 14 days from their departure date.
The move marks the latest escalation in the tech industry’s effort to mitigate risk related to the virus, which health officials say originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan and which has led to at least 170 deaths and more than 6,000 confirmed cases.
Although Google does not operate many of its most popular web services in China due to historic tensions with the Chinese government, the company does maintain four official offices in the country.
Source: The Verge
