3 min readBengaluruFeb 21, 2020 01:51 PM IST
First published on: Feb 20, 2020 at 08:54 PM IST
In 2018, India had witnessed a sharp spike in the outbreak of swine flu cases with nearly 205 cases reported in the national capital. (Representational)
German tech giant SAP temporarily shut its offices in three Indian cities for extensive sanitisation after two of its employees in its Bengaluru office tested positive for H1N1 virus (swine flu). In an internal communication by the companies Human Resources department, employees based out of Mumbai, Gurugram and Bengaluru have been asked to work from home.
In a statement to Indianexpress.com, SAP India said, “two SAP India employees based in Bengaluru (RMZ Ecoworld office) have tested positive for the H1N1 virus. Detailed contact tracing that the infected colleagues may have come into contact with is underway. The health of our employees and their families is of utmost priority, as a precautionary measure, all the SAP India Offices across Bangalore, Gurgaon, and Mumbai have been closed for extensive sanitization, and all SAP employees based in these locations have been asked to work from home till further notice.”
The German tech giant also said that SAP Labs India, the company’s R&D arm which has an office in Whitefield, has not been closed.
“This is to keep you informed that there are few cases of H1N1 (swine Flu) reported out of Ecoworld office. Considering this situation, we encourage you to work from home beginning tomorrow (February 20) till February 28, 2020,” SAP India told its employees in the mail.
The company advised employees to seek medical advice in case of symptoms of cold, cough and fever.
The German tech giant stated that it was monitoring the situation closely. “The health of our employees is our priority and it is critical we provide the current information and guidance to help limit the spread of H1N1 virus,” the mail added.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka health department officials said that these types of measures are not required by SAP India. “We don’t know why SAP has taken such measures H1N1 cases are reported less when compared to last year and no outbreak and it is a self-limiting disease and only a few cases may go for complications. These types of measures not required,” Dr. DG Prakash Kumar, Joint Director, communicable diseases, Karnataka health department told Indianexpress.com
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had in 2009 declared H1N1 as a pandemic. Its symptoms, according to WHO, include fever, chills and sore throat and is similar to seasonal influenza. However, it has proven to be highly fatal, especially for young adults, and has a higher incidence of viral pneumonia.
In 2018, India had witnessed a sharp spike in the outbreak of swine flu cases with nearly 205 cases reported in the national capital.
In 2018, India had witnessed a sharp spike in the outbreak of swine flu cases with nearly 205 cases reported in the national capital. (Representational)
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