CNN Philippines goes off-air for building disinfection
LOCAL news channel CNN Philippines on Wednesday said it had to go off the air for at least 24 hours as the Worldwide Corporate Center where it is housed needed to be disinfected after an employee of another company in the same building tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
CNN Philippines, operated and owned by Nine Media Corp., said in a statement: “CNN Philippines will go off air for at least 24 hours as the building where the network is housed will be disinfected.”
“Employee of another company in the same building, but on a different floor, tests positive for COVID-19,” it added.
It said it would still continue to deliver news through its website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
The building is along Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong.
“We have prepared for this emergency. For more than two weeks, many of our colleagues have been isolated and working from home already,” the company said in a statement. “We took that step in anticipation of something like this to happen. CNN Philippines still has a team working to gather stories that matter and to bring them to you as they happen,” it said.
The Health department on Tuesday afternoon reported 45 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 187.
The government on Monday placed the entire island of Luzon under “enhanced community quarantine” until April 12. During this period, classes and public transportation are suspended, while businesses are asked to stop operations or implement work-from-home schemes. Malls in Luzon have also been shut down. — Arjay L. Balinbin
