OMD Sydney has followed the lead of a number of agencies around the globe and has shut down the agency today after a visitor to its Pyrmont offices showed symptoms of the coronavirus.
There are also reports that the individual visited Foxtel’s Sydney offices in Ryde and it, too, is considering its options.
Late last night, OMD’s CEO Aimee Buchanan sent an email to all staff saying the Sydney office would be closed today (Friday the 28th) and most likely Monday, too.
In a statement to B&T this morning, Omnicom Media Group CEO Australia and New Zealand Peter Horgan confirmed that a visiting colleague from the UK had shown flu-like symptoms after transiting through Singapore en route.
Yesterday, OMD in the UK announced it was shutting its offices for 48 hours over coronavirus fears.
You can read Peter Horgan’s statement in full below:
“OMD Australia has advised all Sydney employees to work from home today, following reports that one of our OMD London colleagues has come down with flu-like symptoms after visiting Sydney for business (via Singapore).
“While this is not a confirmed case of coronavirus, we have taken this precautionary measure as the health and safety of our employees is our top priority. OMD Australia has also notified all visitors to its Sydney office in the past week.
“OMD will continue business as usual, with staff working remotely to minimise impact on our clients. We plan to be back to normal business operations on Monday.”
