Italian oilfield services provider Saipem on Friday issued a statement dismissing reports that a coronavirus infected person had entered its office in Nigeria.
In a brief statement on social media, Saipem said: "Saipem informs that the news that the Italian citizen found positive for CoronaVirus in Nigeria has entered the company's offices is false. The person, whose name cannot be disclosed for privacy reasons, has never been to Saipem offices in Italy or Nigeria in recent weeks."
Worth noting, Osagie Ehanire, Nigerian Minister of Health, has issued a statement confirming an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and returned from Milan to Lagos on February 25, had contracted the coronavirus disease COVID -19. This is the first confirmed case reported in Nigeria. The minister did not mention Saipem in any way.
Work from home
Saipem has, a few days ago, activated safety measures as a response to the coronavirus outbreak in Italy and internationally urging its workers in Italy to work from home, and saying that all missions abroad, to and from risk areas, are canceled and reduced to the minimum.
In a statement earlier this week, Saipem said: "Saipem, ever attentive to the well-being of its staff who represent an invaluable asset of skills and knowledge, announces its decision to reduce the on-the-job presence of its employees in the workplace, with the aim of further minimizing collective socio-health risks due to the CoronaVirus emergency (Covid-19) on the Italian territory and, in particular, in Lombardy and Veneto."
Saipem said that some 2,196 employees based in San Donato Milanese and Marghera would work from home, carrying out their duties remotely until Monday, March 2, inclusive.
However, Saipem said, given the nature of the company's activities, in order to ensure adequate and unaltered business continuity, it is necessary, for the moment, to maintain the presence of a number of resources at certain locations.
According to Statista.com, Italy is the most affected country by the outbreak in Europe so far, with the number of coronavirus cases in the country reaching 655 as of Friday. In total there are now over 800 confirmed cases in Europe, Statista said Friday, adding that after Italy, Germany has the most cases with 48 - 16 of which have already recovered.