RBC employees are in self-quarantine after coworker tests positive for coronavirus

Two companies in the Toronto area are taking some serious precautions after learning that employees have been diagnosed with the 2019 novel coronavirus.

BDO, an accounting firm with multiple offices in the city's downtown core, completely shut down its office near Wellington and Yonge Streets for disinfection after a staff member was confirmed to have COVID-19 following overseas travel.

BDO Canada confirmed to CTV News Toronto that its office at 20 Wellington Street East, Suite 500 is currently shut down and undergoing a thorough disinfection, after one of its employees tested positive for COVID-19.#canada #coronavirus #covid19 #bdo #toronto https://t.co/l9konwKkgc

— Charlene (@ckeewm) March 10, 2020

In confirming the news to CTV today, a representative from BDO said that the individual is currently self-isolating at home. Their coworkers from 20 Wellington St. East, Suite 500 are now also working from home as a result while the office space is thoroughly cleaned.

In Mississauga, dozens of personnel from an entire floor of the Royal Bank of Canada office at 6880 Financial Dr. — at the corner of Highway 401 and Mississauga Road — have been sent home to quarantine themselves after potential contamination from a coworker who has also been infected with the communicable disease.

RBC told CTV the measures are simply "precautionary," and that the sick employee's floor, as well as all of the building's common areas, have all since been sanitized.

That office's case of the virus is in a staffer who also recently returned home from an international trip, as has been the pattern with the majority of the COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Canada thus far.

An RBC Employee in Mississauga tested positive for Coronavirus. If you work at the RBC headquarters in Mississauga on Financial Drive go and get tested asap ❗️❗️❗️

— Brampton Denzel Washington (@btownwasteman) March 10, 2020

Many workplaces in the city are starting to instate policies that mandate self-isolation after any sort of travel to ensure the health and safety of all workers and to prevent community spread.

Given the fact that there have now been upwards of 113,000 cases of the virus confirmed in 104 countries globally — just more than half of whom have recovered and more than 4,oo0 of which have resulted in fatalities — staying home after travel and/or when experiencing any kind of flu-like symptoms is definitely advisable right now.