Washington Post encouraging employees to work from home

The Washington Post in a Tuesday memo instructed employees to work from home, if possible, in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

“We have decided to begin encouraging (but not mandating) employees to work from home if your role and equipment needs make it practical to do so, starting tomorrow through the end of the month,” publisher Fred Ryan said in the memo, obtained by Washingtonian.

“We intend to continue our operations at full scale even with this change in employee locations. As we get more information from the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] CDC and local officials, we will continue to evaluate this position, and will let you know if further changes are deemed necessary,” he added.

The newspaper previously canceled office tours and nonessential travel for employees, and has asked reporters who covered the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), an attendee of which has tested positive for the virus, to work from home for seven days. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Reps. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) also said they will self-quarantine after making contact with the conference attendee, with Gaetz announcing Tuesday that he has tested negative.

Vice Media also said Monday that it has sent staff to work from home amid concerns that an employee may have been exposed to the virus. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also instructed employees to work from home.