SM-led firm shuts down BGC building for disinfection
MANILA, Philippines — The building where Deloitte Philippines operates in Taguig will be shut down starting 7 p.m. today as disinfection protocols begin, following confirmation that a company employee tested positive for Coronavirus-Disease 19 (COVID-19), administrators said on Saturday.
In a Facebook post, SM-led NEO offices said Six/NEO housing Deloitte "will be closed down starting 7 p.m. today for thorough disinfection."
In a separate Circular 2020-009 seen by Philstar.com, NEO Property Managament Inc. said disinfection will begin an hour earlier at 6 p.m. and end the following day at the same time.
The building will re-open for business afterwards.
"All tenants have been advised to review their staff's travel history and plans, and to monitor the health of those who recently returned from overseas," NEO said on its Facebook page.
"We are also cooperating with the Department of Health for guidance in the prevention of further spread of the virus," it aded.
The shutdown comes after Deloitte confirmed early Saturday morning that one of its employees tested for the deadly COVID-19.
The Health department later on confirmed that the employee was among the two new cases reported yesterday.
The building, one of the seven towers leased as office spaces by the SM Group, is situated in Bonifacio Global City, a key financial district.
Six/NEO itself houses offices for multinational companies and business process outsourcing firms like Coca-Cola Philippines, PhilAm Life and FMC Corp.
While most companies have business continuity plans that allow work to continue remotely, the closing of Six/NEO marked a turning point that showed how the virus has impact the workplace, especially of BPO firms.
In a memo last January 31 to member-firms, the IT-BPO Association of the Philippines said it relies on its members to ensure that the coronavirus causing COVID-19 does not spread in the work area, with work-from-home options left to each company's discretion.
On Saturday, the Health department recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte to declare a public health emergency, which allows the government to speed up procurement of health logistics, and mandate hospitals to report and quarantine suspected cases.
The recommendation of health officials followed the reporting of a sixth case of COVID-19 infection, which involved the wife of the fifth person infected. This, officials said, confirmed local transmission of the coronavirus causing COVID-19.
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