KKR says employee tests positive for coronavirus, shuts London offices

FILE PHOTO: Trading information for KKR & Co is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., August 23, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) - Private equity firm KKR & Co Inc said late on Monday an employee in its London office had tested positive for coronavirus, and that it would temporarily close both its London offices to have them sanitized.

"Our London office has recently been impacted, with a member of staff being confirmed with COVID-19," a company spokeswoman said in a statement, adding that the individual was at home and recovering well.

As a necessary precaution, the company is temporarily closing both its London offices to implement a thorough cleaning and sanitization process and employees have been asked to work from home until further notice, the spokeswoman said.

Bloomberg had first reported the news.

KKR said it also requires those employees with close contact with the impacted individual to self-quarantine themselves for 14 days.

KKR is the latest to join a slew of banks in London to send staff home and to other locations in a bid to contain the spread of the virus in the main financial hub.

More than 111,600 people have been infected by the virus globally and over 3,800 have died, according to a Reuters tally of government announcements.

(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)