A Shell Singapore employee has been identified as having close contact with a Covid-19 confirmed case.

In response, an undisclosed number of employees from Shell's office at The Metropolis in the Buona Vista area were "advised to work from home with immediate effect until further notice".

This was confirmed by a spokesperson for Shell Singapore, in a statement issued on Feb. 14.

The spokesperson said that the employee was well, with no symptoms of a Covid-19 infection, and that Shell Singapore would continue to monitor his health at home.

Precautionary measures

Those sent home were colleagues of the employee, who had been in close contact with him.

According to Yahoo! Finance, part of the company’s trading desks were already working remotely as part of an earlier contingency plan.

However, all the trading desks will now need to work from home as well.

"Our operations are unimpacted by this development", said the spokesperson.

Shell Singapore's full statement

Shell Singapore's statement can be read in full here:

“Shell Singapore can confirm that an employee who works at The Metropolis in Singapore, has been identified as having close contact with a COVID-19 case who tested positive this morning. Our employee is well with no symptoms, and will continue to monitor his health at home.

As a precautionary measure, we will thoroughly clean and disinfect the work areas and common areas in accordance with guidelines set by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and National Environment Agency. The colleagues he has been in close contact with have been advised to work from home with immediate effect until further notice. We had already implemented precautionary measures as advised by MOH including temperature screening at Shell Singapore sites and work locations.

Our operations are unimpacted by this development. Shell has business continuity plans in place to ensure the safety and sustainability of our business operations and our ability to meet the needs of our customers and partners.”

Top image via Wikimedia Commons (B.B.25, View of part of Buona Vista MRT station, CC BY-SA 4.0)