Gap Inc. closed its New York City office after an employee tested positive for COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus.
On Thursday evening, the apparel giant notified employees by email about the identified coronavirus case, instructing staff to vacate the premises and work from home to avoid contamination. The worker who tested positive was not in the office at the time.
The Gap office is located at 55 Thomas Street in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood.
“On March 5, we learned that there is one case of COVID-19 in our Gap headquarters building in New York. As a result of this information, we closed our New York office and are asking employees to work from home until further notice,” Gap said in a statement.
Gap plans to sanitize the building before workers are allowed to return.
The global health emergency has already had dire effects on the fashion industry, less than three months after news first broke out. Abercrombie & Fitch was forced to temporarily close its Shanghai regional home office, as well as stores throughout China and Milan, as a result of the virus. The company noted on Thursday that the coronavirus outbreak could impact its first-quarter earnings.
The supply chain is also feeling financial fallout from the epidemic. In February alone, logistics company DHL lost a reported $75 million as a result of Chinese government-imposed transportation restrictions designed to keep the viral outbreak from spreading. To date, more than 100,000 global coronavirus cases have been confirmed, and the death toll has topped 3,400.
Denim trade shows are also taking a hit from the global epidemic, with Denimsandjeans Japan and Kingpins Hong Kong proactively canceling their upcoming events in light of the emergency.
