Baker McKenzie closes London office as ‘precautionary measure’ to combat potential coronavirus case

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By Legal Cheek on

Staff told to work from home

Baker McKenzie closed its London office this afternoon in response to a “potential case” of the coronavirus.

In a statement this evening, a spokesperson for the firm told Legal Cheek: “Our priority is the health and wellbeing of our people and our clients and we have asked our London office employees to work from home for the time being while we are taking precautionary measures in response to a potential case of the COVID-19.”

Details remain thin on the ground, however RollOnFriday reports that “a person recently returned from northern Italy and is now unwell”.

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Confirmed coronavirus cases in Italy have jumped to 400 cases, a rise of 80 from Tuesday night. It has so far killed 12 people in Italy and over 2,800 globally.

Bakers’ statement continued:

“We have a well-established agile working programme — including sophisticated technology and IT systems for home working — which allows us to take these precautionary measures without impacting our client service delivery.”

The global firm said it continues to closely monitor the situation and is following the advice and guidance issued by the Government and Public Health England.

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