Kakao Corp, operator of South Korea's dominant chat app, went further and blocked employees from coming to the office for two weeks, as the country's daily infections hit record highs.
Many people in South Korea travelled during the holidays to see family, likely leading to an uptick in infections.
After Feb. 18, Kakao will also deliver 10 at-home test kits, which can be used 20 times, to each employee's home so they can test themselves before coming to the office, it said in a statement.
Energy group SK Innovation handed out at-home test kits to employees ahead of the holiday and asked them to test themselves before returning to work, and recommended working from home, a spokesperson said.
Battery maker LG Energy Solution also handed out at-home test kits to employees for them to use before returning to work, a spokesperson said.
South Korean government agencies including the Ministry of Health and Welfare took similar precautions, a spokesperson said.
"The number of confirmed cases is increasing rapidly due to the Omicron spread, but the medical system remains in a stable situation," Son said.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 22,907 new cases for Wednesday, up 58% from 14,518 last Wednesday.
To read the full story, Subscribe Now at just Rs 249 a month
Already a subscriber? Log in
Subscribe To BS Premium
₹249
Renews automatically
₹1699₹1999
Opt for auto renewal and save Rs. 300 Renews automatically
₹1999
What you get on BS Premium?
- Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app.
- Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them.
- Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006.
- Preferential invites to Business Standard events.
- Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more.
Need More Information - write to us at assist@bsmail.in