Roche tells Spanish staff to work remotely as coronavirus spreads

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche Holdings said on Tuesday it would send all of its 1,200 Spanish employees home starting from Wednesday to work remotely amid the coronavirus outbreak. "The company will maintain its normal activity and will guarantee, as until now, the supply of medicines to hospitals," Roche said in a statement.

The company made the decision after Spanish authorities ordered to shut down all schools in Madrid on Monday. Twenty-eight people have died in Spain from the coronavirus, with the number of cases jumping on Monday to 1,204, one of the highest in Europe, though still far behind Italy's tally.