San Francisco (AFP)

Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Facebook are now recommending their employees in Washington (northwest) work if possible from home, while more than 180 people have been infected with the new coronavirus in the United States, according to an assessment established Thursday by AFP from official sources.

Of the twelve deaths that Covid-19 has made so far in the country, eleven deaths have occurred in Washington State and one in California, which has declared a state of emergency.

"We recommend that all employees who can work from home do so until March 25," said Kurt DelBene, executive vice president of Microsoft, in a statement released on Wednesday. "These measures will ensure your safety and also make our premises safer for those who need to be there."

The IT group is headquartered in Redmond, a suburb of Seattle, the economic capital of Washington State.

Its neighbor Amazon, which employs more than 50,000 people in Seattle and Bellevue, passed the same instruction, "until the end of the month," said a spokesman for the giant of e-commerce.

Google has also advised its employees in this state to connect from their home.

The three firms, Amazon in particular, dominate the global remote computing market, and should therefore not lack the resources necessary to organize themselves differently.

In San Francisco, Lyft, a car reservation platform with drivers, asked its employees to return home Thursday after learning that one of them had been in contact with a person exposed to the new coronavirus.

The employee in question has no symptoms, but "we act on the recommendations of the CDC (note) and as a precaution we encourage all our employees in San Francisco to work from home for the rest of the week ", detailed the competitor of Uber.

The company headquarters should be thoroughly washed overnight.

On Sunday, Twitter (based in San Francisco) also said "to take maximum precautions, and, therefore," strongly encourage all employees worldwide to work from home if they can.

The US Congress approved a $ 8.3 billion emergency plan to finance the fight against the coronavirus on Thursday. In particular, it plans to finance research and development of vaccines, medical and diagnostic treatments, as well as remote medical services or loans at reduced rates for small businesses.

Boeing, for its part, has not closed its Seattle area sites. "There has been no impact on the production of planes at this stage and we are ready in case of disruptions," said a spokesman for AFP.

Many large groups have also restricted travel.

"We recommend that people postpone their visits to sites in the Puget Sound (in Seattle, editor's note) or in the bay (San Francisco, editor's note) unless they are essential to the proper functioning of Microsoft," said Kurt. DelBene. "All non-essential business travel to regions where the Covid-19 is active must be canceled. + Essential + means work related to operations, sales and customer service".

© 2020 AFP