Google on Friday confirmed that one of its employees, who has a travel history to Greece, has been tested positive for COVID-19, caused by coronavirus that has brought the globe to a standstill. The 26-year-old man had spent a few hours in Google's RMZ Infinity office in Bengaluru before developing any symptoms. "We can confirm that an employee from our Bengaluru office has been diagnosed with COVID-19. He was in one of our Bengaluru offices for a few hours before developing any symptoms. The employee has been on quarantine since then," Google said in a statement.
The patient is in isolation at Jayanagar General Hospital in Bengaluru. "Primary contacts (of the patient) have been traced and are asymptomatic. Home quarantine has been advised and follow-up is being done," said Karnataka Health Minister B. Sriramul. Karnataka has so far reported five confirmed COVID-19 cases, while the number of patients in India has soared to 74.
The patient had recently returned from Greece and reportedly visited several places in the Karnataka capital. "Other employees have been asked to work from home and those who may have come in close contact with the patient have been asked to quarantine themselves. Out of an abundance of caution, we are asking employees in that Bengaluru office to work from home on Friday," said Google. Earlier this week, Google, in its to contain the spread of the coronavirus, had advised its employees to work from home if possible.
Reportedly, the man, who recently got married, was on his honeymoon in Greece. They had gone to Greece on February 23 and returned on March 6 to Mumbai. He reached Bengaluru on an IndiGo flight on March 8. According to The News Minute, his wife has returned to her native in Agra.
Earlier, two technology firms Dell and Mindtree had reported one positive case each in Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, India's first coronavirus death was reported from Karnataka on Thursday. A 76-year-old man who had recently returned from Saudi Arabia died on Tuesday. After his death his samples were confirmed to be positive for COVID-19.
