MANILA – The Asian Development Bank has closed its headquarters in Philippines where the senate has also been placed under lockdown after some visitors to both buildings found infected with novel Coronavirus.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will also go under medical checkup as a precautionary step. In the country, 49 people were tested positive for the fatal disease while one person has died.
The ADB said it will continue to operate as usual while a decision about reopen the office will be taken by the in coming days.
“The safety of staff, visitors to the bank, and their families is of utmost importance to us,” ADB official Deborah Stokes said in a statement. “We are providing support to the staff who interacted with the visitor.”
ADB has more than 2,600 full-time staff in Manila.
The decision comes a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) described the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic for the first time on Wednesday.
There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives. Thousands more are fighting for their lives in hospitals.
