Altria CEO Howard Willard contracts coronavirus

Marlboro cigarette maker Altria Group Inc Chief Executive Officer Howard Willard has contracted coronavirus and is taking temporary medical leave, a regulatory filing showed on Friday.

Willard, 56, is the latest high-profile person to get the virus in a global pandemic that has infected more than 245,000 people and killed over 10,000 globally. Chief Financial Officer William Gifford Jr will take over for Willard during his absence, the company said http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/764180/000076418020000026/0000764180-20-000026-index.htm in a memo to employees.

Altria said on Thursday it would temporarily suspend operations at a manufacturing facility in Richmond, Virginia, after a second employee tested positive for the virus. The outbreak has upended the lives of millions and has led to many companies around the world to effectively grind to a standstill.

People over the age of sixty-five are most vulnerable to becoming severely ill because of the virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.