2 new cases of coronavirus reported at Apple’s Irish HQ

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Apple's headquarters in Cork, Ireland.
This brings total number of cases to at Hollyhill office to three.
Photo: Jan Zuppinger/Flickr CC

Two more cases of coronavirus have been detected at Apple’s Ireland HQ in Hollyhill, County Cork, a report published Friday by Irish news outlet The Echo.

This brings the number of COVID-19 cases reported at the Irish Apple offices to three. The first case was confirmed by Apple on Tuesday.

An email seen by The Echo says that the employee had been feeling unwell since early March. They were then tested and found to have the coronavirus. A number of employees at the Irish HQ have been told to self-isolate to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus. Apple also carried out a deep clean of all office areas.

The report does not mention what role the employee carries out at Apple. However, it says that Apple has taken the precautionary measure of splitting its Hollyhill facility into sections. Employees working in each of the four buildings are being kept separate from one another. Apple reportedly says that the risk to employees is low. More than 70 cases of COVID-19 have so far been confirmed in Ireland.

Apple is Cork’s largest private employer, having had a presence in the area for decades. It is home to Apple’s only wholly owned manufacturing facility in the world. This factory builds “made-to-order” iMacs for customers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Apple employs more than 5,000 people in Cork.

No cases of coronavirus have yet been confirmed at Apple Park. However, Tim Cook has advised that employees can work from home wherever possible. Apple is also taking measures to cut down the risk of coronavirus spreading at Apple Stores.

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