Microsoft says two employees have been diagnosed with coronavirus

KEY POINTS

• Both employees are in Washington's Puget Sound region.
• Microsoft has previously taken steps to reduce its employees' exposure.

Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, Satya Narayana Nadella speaks during a presentation at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), on the eve of the world's biggest mobile fair, on February 24, 2019, in Barcelona.

GABRIEL BOUYS | AFP | Getty Images

Two Microsoft employees in Washington state have contracted the coronavirus.

They are among the more than 95,000 COVID-19 cases around the globe, according to the World Health Organization.

Both employees are located in Puget Sound, the area that includes Microsoft's Redmond headquarters, a Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC in an email on Thursday evening. One is an employee of Microsoft subsidiary LinkedIn who works remotely, a LinkedIn spokesperson told CNBC in an email. 

"Local health experts have determined that this individual had no known contact with other employees while infected and, based on that fact, there is no risk to those who work at LinkedIn from this case," the LinkedIn spokesperson wrote. "We are doing everything we can to support our colleague and will continue to keep the health and safety of our employees, customers and partners as our top priority, working closely with public health officials globally."

On Wednesday, Microsoft instructed employees in the Puget Sound and California's Bay Area to work from home if they can over the next few weeks. The company also limited employee travel.

On the same day, Facebook said a contractor based at one of the company's offices in Seattle tested positive for the virus.

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