- Weber Shandwick, one of the world's largest PR firms, confirmed in an internal memo that an employee in its New York headquarters has tested positive for COVID-19.
- The memo says the employee was last in the office on March 11 and began displaying symptoms on March 16.
- The firm said it told the employee and certain colleagues to self-quarantine.
- This is the second coronavirus-related matter at Weber after leaders learned March 10 that two New York employees had come into close contact with someone who later tested positive for the disease.
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An internal memo to staff at the New York City headquarters of PR firm Weber Shandwick confirmed that an employee who works in the building has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Weber Shandwick, part of ad holding company IPG, was the second-largest PR firm in the world by revenue in 2019, according to the Holmes Report.
Read the full memo from Jean Lee Swagert, chief human resources officer, below.
Earlier, the firm confirmed two other people had been exposed and IPG CEO Michael Roth encouraged employees to work from home
The memo states that Weber Shandwick had already notified the people who had been in close contact with the unnamed employee before the memo went out just before 3 PM today.
A spokesperson for Constituent Management Group, IPG's PR division, said all Weber Shandwick employees have been notified and that the building's landlord has been instructed to tell other tenants.
Today's memo is the second acknowledgement of a coronavirus-related matter at Weber Shandwick.
A spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider last week that leadership learned March 10 that two New York employees had come into close contact with someone who later tested positive for the disease.
And at the parent company level, IPG CEO Michael Roth March 13 sent out a memo encouraging employees in North America and Europe to talk to their managers about working from home and said all agency offices would remain open.
According to the memo, that policy remains in place, and employees should only come into the office if it is "absolutely essential."
Read the memo below.
Confirmed COVID-19 case in NYC
Dear Colleagues,
We learned this morning that one of our employees who works at 909 Third Avenue on the 7th floor has tested positive for COVID-19. We have already notified the individuals who has close contact with this colleague, and we have asked those individuals to self-quarantine, based on guidance from our medical advisor.
Our colleague was last in the office on Wednesday, March 11 and first experienced symptoms on Sunday. The colleague has been self-quarantined since then, based on medical guidance.
While most of us have been working remotely, we continue to encourage all to do the following, no matter where you work:
- Practice social distancing - deliberately increasing the physical space between yourself and others to at least six feet.
- Remember the most effective way to protect yourself is to clean your hands often, and avoid close contact with others. This is true whether you are in the office, at a store or at home.
- If you are feeling sick, or have a family member who is, please do not come to the office. Contact your healthcare provider and do not come into the office until your healthcare provider has cleared you to return to the office.
- If you have traveled, for personal or business reasons to countries included on our restricted travel list, you should not come to the office for 14 days.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, or use the inside of your elbow. Throw used tissues in the trash and immediately wash your hands.
All employees should continue to work from home unless it is absolutely essential that they come into the office.
Most important, please join us in wishing our colleague a safe and speedy recovery. As I'm sure you understand, we are obligated to maintain the privacy of the individual, so will not disclose this person's name.
We know this is a stressful time for all - please reach out to me, your HR partner (or humanresources@webershandwick.com) or your manager if you need to talk or if you need support.