Deloitte Philippines is located in NEO Six, Bonifacio Global City.
CNN Philippines (March 7) – Taguig-based consulting firm Deloitte Philippines has said that one of their employees has tested positive for coronavirus disease.
“We can confirm that a colleague in our Deloitte Philippines office has tested positive for COVID-19,” the company said in a statement posted on their official website.
Their colleague is currently in a hospital receiving treatment and further tests, Deloitte added.
The company also said it has taken necessary actions to keep their workers and clients safe, informing those who have come into contact with the confirmed COVID-19 to monitor themselves as well as seek medical attention once they develop the common symptoms of the highly contagious disease.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the country have gone up to six, with one fatality as of Saturday.
The Deloitte Philippines employee is one of the two new confirmed cases the Department of Health reported on Friday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a briefing. He is a 48-year-old Filipino man with travel history to Japan currently admitted at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
DOH to private institutions: Please talk to us before sharing health information
Shortly after the DOH confirmed the Deloitte’s statement, Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire called on companies to coordinate with them before disclosing health information to the public.
Vergeire said that while they acknowledge the private institution’s right to make announcements for the sake of their workers’ safety, they also have to think of implications such as sowing panic and stigmatizing the patient with infectious disease.
“Alam po naman namin ang intensiyon ay maayos dahil gusto lang nila pangalagaan ang kanilang empleyado pero pag tiningnan natin sa isang banda, yung implikasyon sa buong population na nagkakaroon ng takot … ng stigma maiiwasan po sana kung may paguugnayan.”
[Translation: I know their intentions are good because they want to protect their employees’ safety but on the other hand. fear and stigma could be avoided if there is communication.]
For its part, the Bonifacio Global City assured the public that all protocols are being followed after an employee of Deloitte Philippines caught the deadly virus.
BGC said they are sanitizing and disinfecting its malls, public transportation utilities, parks and other crowd-drawing areas. They are also doing temperature check in entrances.
It added people with COVID-19 concerns may contact the BGC’s emergency hotline through 0917-844-4357.
