EY, Atlassian and multiple Australian law firms send workers home amid coronavirus fears

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Fears about COVID-19 infecting Australian workplaces hit in a wave on Thursday, as staff from major companies including big four consulting firm EY, tech giant Atlassian and law firm King & Wood Mallesons were sent home after it emerged employees may have been exposed to coronavirus.

The response – to immediately evacuate workers who may have had direct contact with anyone exposed to the virus – underscored how vulnerable corporate Australia - with offices full of hundreds of employees in close proximity and a virus transferable between people by a simple cough - is to the pandemic.

At EY (the former Ernst & Young), the order to go home for the entire 49th floor of its Brisbane office, located in Eagle Street, was triggered after a staff member reported having flu-like symptoms.

The staff member had been in contact with an individual who has since been diagnosed with COVID-19 during the weekend at a bar in Brisbane's Riverside area, according to an email sent out to EY partners and staff.

The email asked everyone working on the floor to take their laptops and work from home with the firm now awaiting to hear the results of the staff member's COVID-19 test.

It further advised anyone who had worked for an extended period at level 49 of the Brisbane office on Monday to self-isolate until further notice.

"The impacted individual has contacted Queensland Health and has been tested for COVID-19 and is following all recommended medical advice, including self-quarantine," EY partner Kate Hillman said.

"We are informing colleagues based in the same location and additional EY people, clients, suppliers and others who may have come into contact with the individual.

"We have taken the extra precaution of asking staff on the affected floor to work from home until further notice, and we are sanitising the floor.

"We are continuing to monitor this situation closely and will be updating our guidance and protocols as developments warrant.”

Atlassian goes home

Software provider Atlassian closed its two Sydney offices, including its main office in George Street, after a service provider reported having flu-like symptoms.

"As a precaution, Atlassian has closed its Sydney offices and advised employees to work from home until further notice," a spokesman said.

"Thursday afternoon, Atlassian was made aware that a service provider in one of its Sydney offices reported symptoms consistent with COVID-19. The individual has been tested and results are pending. We took immediate action to close our Sydney sites until we know more."

The company already asked all its US and European staff to work from home earlier in the week.

Sydney, Melbourne evacuations

Earlier in the day law firm Norton Rose Fulbright sent staff home from its Sydney office following a staff member informing management they had been in contact with someone who had tested positive for COVID-19.

That followed another major firm King & Wood Mallesons shutting its Sydney office after a staff member warned they may have contracted coronavirus during an overseas holiday.

Another law firm, Jones Day, also shut a floor of its Sydney office as a precautionary measure.

Media company Nine, which publishes The Australian Financial Review and Business Insider Australia, also had to send staff sent home from one of its Sydney offices.

The evacuation following a studio visit at Nine's Willoughby campus, in Sydney's north, by actress Rita Wilson who, along with her husband actor Tom Hanks, have been diagnosed with the virus.

Nine said a small number of staff who had contact with Ms Wilson has been sent home.

Broking firm Bell Potter also set its staff at its Sydney office in Phillip Street home after one of its retail brokers contracted coronavirus.

In Melbourne, funds management giant Vanguard shut its Melbourne office in the heart of Southbank, after an employee displayed symptoms consistent with the coronavirus after returning from Asia.

This story originally appeared on the AFR. Read the story here.