A very small percentage of office workers have returned to their desks in Manhattan despite New York City reopening from months of coronavirus-related closures.
The Wall Street Journal cited data from landlords and other official sources that indicate fewer than 10% of workers are back in the office. That means most people are opting to stay at home and work as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, or businesses are opting to keep their offices shuttered and see how things play out.
One landlord said that just 8% of people who work at buildings in downtown Manhattan have returned to work, while another said that 9% have returned in several midtown buildings.
New York City was slammed with coronavirus cases and deaths in the early months of the pandemic, but the Big Apple eventually got things under control. According to WorldoMeter, California now leads the nation in terms of the number of overall cases, followed by New York and Florida.
In cities nationwide, most offices that have reopened must follow guidelines that cap the number of people in the office at a time. But many businesses, as indicated in the landlord data, have yet to even take that step.
"We don't have a definitive opening date," a Twitter spokesperson told the Journal. "Our offices don't open before September and whenever we do come back, it will be at 20% capacity. We've told employees that if they’re in a role and situation that allows them to work from home they can continue to do so forever if they want."
Google made headlines on Monday by saying its entire workforce will continue to be home-based for the next 12 months.
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