among the tenants of WeWork’s shared office space in London’s Waterloo neighborhood that an employee who was potentially ill with COVID-19 had been working in the building. So WeWork did what it’s done at least seven other times at its locations ranging from Los Angeles to Denver to Seattle to Manhattan after similar diagnoses: It sent a cleaning crew to scrub the germs from the elevators, lobby and communal spaces so that office life could continue without too much disruption.
WeWork declined to respond to detailed questions about its finances and operations, and would not update its response to coronavirus beyond what’s on its, which tracks full building closures only. Some steps to address the virus spread have been taken: It stopped providing breakfast and barista services. It suspended all events globally and, in China, discouraged visitors. Elsewhere, according to a WeWork spokesperson, offices are being cleaned more frequently.
WeWork's 85 Broad Street location is one of 58 in Manhattan that could be at risk of closure if the city asks residents to"shelter in place" because of the coronavirus.“They needed this like a fat kid needs more cake,” says a former WeWork executive. “They did just take on a huge influx of cash,” says Jake Schwartz, cofounder and CEO of General Assembly, an education company that previously also did coworking and has long been critical of WeWork. “They probably didn’t want to spend it burning through a couple of months where people aren’t there and don’t pay their rent.”