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Twitter has mandated that all of its employees in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea work from home due to the coronavirus, which has killed over 3,000 people globally, "due in part to government restrictions" in those countries, the company said on Monday.
All three countries -- along with Italy and Iran -- have been identified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as having "widespread or sustained community transmission" of COVID-19.
According to the most recent figures by the World Health Organization, Hong Kong has 98 people infected with the virus and two dead, Japan has 254 cases of infection and six dead and South Korea has 4,212 cases and 22 people dead.
Twitter, which has nearly 4,000 employees across over 35 countries around the world, said it is "strongly encouraging all employees" to work from home.
"Our goal is to lower the probability of the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus for us -- and the world around us. We are operating out of an abundance of caution and the utmost dedication to keeping our Tweeps healthy," Jen Christie, the chief HR officer at Twitter said in a statement.
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The social media giant has said that for employees who do prefer to work in the office or whose jobs necessitate it, the offices will remain open but the real estate and workplace team will be working to deep clean and sanitize office spaces and post visual reminders for personal hygiene best practices, the company said. They will also be providing pre-packaged, pre-composed and pre-plated food options for employees in the office.
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