Grab employee at its Marina One corporate office infected with COVID-19

SINGAPORE: A Grab employee working at the company’s corporate office at Marina One West Tower has been infected with COVID-19, a company spokesperson said in a media statement on Monday (Mar 9)

The ride-hailing firm said it is working with the authorities to conduct detailed contact tracing with its staff and others who may have come into close contact with the employee.

The employee tested positive on Saturday (Mar 7) and is currently in hospital receiving treatment, the spokesperson said.

Eight new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Singapore on Saturday, though Grab did not say if one of them was its employee. 

The statement added that the employee does not handle any day to day operations at its frontline premises.

Grab said it took immediate action to protect the personal health and safety of all employees and minimise the risk of further infection. 

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“All levels of Grab’s Marina One offices were closed immediately, and deep cleaning and disinfecting has commenced since Mar 7 in accordance with the authorities’ guidelines,” said the Grab spokesperson. 

The building management of Marina One was informed, and subsequently sanitised the lifts and common areas of the West Tower over the weekend, the statement added.

“Grab will be providing this employee and his family support and guidance during this challenging time,” the spokesperson added.

“All Grab employees have been kept up to date on the situation and company guidelines, and those working in the affected offices have been asked to work from home until Mar 11,” said the spokesperson.

She added Grab is working closely with the authorities to conduct detailed contact tracing with employees and other parties who may have come into close contact with the patient. 

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“The health and wellbeing of our employees, customers and partners are a top priority for us,” she said. 

“Grab will continue to closely monitor the situation and is ready to implement additional precautionary measures to manage the risk of infection, while ensuring minimal impact on our business operations,” she added. 

Grab, which also has offices at Midview City and Guoco Tower, occupies almost 100,000 sq ft across two floors of the West Tower of Marina One. 

The office building on Straits View is also where another confirmed case of COVID-19 – an employee of American social media giant Facebook, which occupies four floors at Marina One – is reported to have worked. 

Of the 150 COVID-19 cases confirmed here, 90 have fully recovered and have been discharged, while most of the remaining 60 cases still in hospital are stable or improving as of Sunday evening. 

Nine remain in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

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