Gap Reopens NYC Office After Coronavirus Case Was Inaccurate

(Bloomberg) -- Gap Inc. abruptly re-opened its New York corporate office after determining that an earlier report of a worker with coronavirus was inaccurate.

The apparel retailer sent a memo last week to its workforce explaining that a worker at its 55 Thomas Street office had a confirmed case of coronavirus and told workers to work from home until further notice.

“We can confirm that the report of an individual in our Gap headquarters building in New York testing positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19) was inaccurate,” Gap spokesperson Trina Somera said in a statement, confirming the office reopened on Monday. The company had closed the office last week “out of an abundance of caution,” it said.

The situation underscores the challenges faced by corporate America in dealing with a deadly virus that shares some symptoms with common colds or flu. Companies are grappling with how best to stave off the outbreak, which has surpassed containment in some parts of the U.S., from implementing mandatory work-from-home policies and scrapping conferences to placing limits on business travel.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jordyn Holman in New York at jholman19@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anne Cronin at acronin14@bloomberg.net, Sally Bakewell, Jonathan Roeder

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