Monday, 27 Jan 2020 01:21 PM MYT
BEIJING, Jan 27 ― Big businesses across China are temporarily shutting stores or advising staff to work from home, to guard against the spread of a flu-like virus as the tally of deaths rose to 80, with more than 2,700 people infected. Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak and the capital of the central province of Hubei, is already under virtual lockdown, with severe curbs on movement in place in several other cities.
Many companies, including e-commerce firm Pinduoduo, bank UBS Group AG and property developer Country Garden also advised employees returning from Wuhan or Hubei province to stay in quarantine at home.