Singapore's DBS sends 300 staff home after one contracts coronavirus

FILE PHOTO: DBS signages are seen in Singapore, October 8 2019. REUTERS/Feline Lim

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's biggest bank DBS Group Holdings asked 300 staff to leave its head office in the financial district on Wednesday and work from home as a precautionary measure after an employee tested positive for coronavirus.

Singapore has reported 50 coronavirus cases, one of the highest tallies outside China, and there is mounting evidence of local transmission. The government has been trying to calm nerves after it raised the virus alert level last week, sparking panic buying of essentials such as rice and toilet paper.