Coronavirus: Societe Generale latest firm to send staff home
Yet more banks are taking measures to protect against the spread of coronavirus, with Societe Generale the latest London bank to send people home today.
A source told Reuters that more than 50 of its staff were working from home today as the French lender said it had put in place travel restrictions, rotation of staff and arrangements for working from home.
Societe Generale declined to comment on the number of people from its Canary Wharf office who were working from home.
More and more firms have activated contigency plans this week as fears over the contagion gripped the UK, which has now reported 163 infections.
Yesterday banking behemoths such as HSBC, S&P Global, and JP Morgan sent hundreds of workers home and began to explore options of sending employees to back-up sites.
Citigroup has sent 10 per cent of traders who usually work in its Canary Wharf office to a backup site in Lewisham, a source familiar with the move said.
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Broker Marex Spectron also said late on Thursday that one of its employees in London had also tested positive for the virus.
This afternoon it was reported that a second person had died in the UK from the virus, but the Department of Health is yet to confirm whether this is the case.
According to the Milton Keynes Citizen, an 80-year-old man with underlying health conditions died this afternoon, following the death of a elderly woman in Reading last night.
It came as the global number of coronavirus cases surpassed 100,000 today, as the death toll continued to rise and the UK committed £46m to research into a vaccine.
The world’s total number of coronavirus cases stood at 100,113 this afternoon, according to John Hopkins University’s coronavirus live count.
The death toll stood at 3,398.