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Googler working in Zurich here. FWIW all Google Zurich leads and my whole management chain insisted that people having any kind of symptom (in general, and not

Googler working in Zurich here. FWIW all Google Zurich leads and my whole management chain insisted that people having any kind of symptom (in general, and not just for the Coronavirus) should rest at home & see the doctor to recover and prevent infecting other Googlers. They also insisted that even "healthy Googlers" feeling insecure coming to work can fully work from home in the coming weeks, and told managers that they shouldn't prevent their managees from doing so. This company has just always been super comprehensive regarding health conditions. If you don't feel good and just want to go back home to rest or take a 2h nap in the sleeping room you can just do it without any justification. Whenever I discuss this with friends none of them has the same freedom and trust that Google gives us. Wishing the best to everyone in this scary period.

cnst 7y ago
You just gotta have those snacks and catered lunch, don't you? :p
vsareto 7y ago
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/symptoms.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/symptoms.htm... Symptoms should not be what causes people to stay home or not If someone has symptoms, they could have been infecting others for up to 14 days prior
- joshuamorton 7y ago
  There's fairly little evidence that COVID spreads from unsymptomatic carriers. They may, but not significantly.
  - vsareto 7y ago
    Yalemedicine isn't the CDC, but not a bad data point? https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/covid-19/ https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/covid-19/ >The CDC believes SARS-CoV-2 is contagious during the incubation period, which is believed to be 14 days, and symptoms of COVID-19 can appear anytime between two and 14 days after exposure. It has identified the following symptoms
    - joshuamorton 7y ago
      From elsewhere: > It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads. This doesn't mean asymptomatic people can't spread the disease, but that the likelyhood of spread from asymptomatic carriers is lower (which makes a lot of sense). [0]: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission...
- s1artibartfast 7y ago
  from your CDC link >Can someone spread the virus without being sick? People are thought to be most contagious when they are most symptomatic (the sickest). Some spread might be possible before people show symptoms; there have been reports of this occurring with this new coronavirus, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.
  - koheripbal 7y ago
    So to be clear, people CAN spread the virus before they are noticeably symptomatic, even if they are not at PEAK virulence.
mondoshawan 7y ago
Can confirm -- also a Googler, but from Austin and recently Mountain View. This is both Google's default policy (not feeling well? go home) and recommendations for current conditions, with more emphasis on staying home even if you're uncomfortable. We even have a whole team dedicated to tracking this stuff and keeping Googlers safe. It's amazing how much outright hate is being spewed here over this -- it borderlines on outright panic.
- FriendlyNormie 7y ago
  A list should be created of all the fearmongering Alex Jones impersonators who have recently been infesting the comment sections on HN so that six months from now when we look back and see that nothing of significance actually happened as a result of this virus other than the side effects of the fearmongering, they can all be shadowbanned. I’ve seen individuals shadowbanned on HN for much less damaging behavior than this.
- akhilcacharya 7y ago
  > This is both Google's default policy (not feeling well? go home) I can’t imagine many tech companies (or even salaried office jobs) having very different default policies. That is sort of missing the point in an emerging pandemic.
  - mondoshawan 7y ago
    Google's not my first rodeo, and I can say that many many tech companies I have worked at have unstated policies of "work until you drop" because of the startup culture that pervades tech. Google is not one of those. Just bear in mind, what you see from the news media is not rarely the whole picture -- especially when the veil of corporate secrecy is involved.
    - mav3rick 7y ago
      He undermines Google in every post. Par for the course.
  - 7y ago
koheripbal 7y ago
This completely misses the point. If people are exposed, they DO NOT KNOW they are sick. There are no symptoms for the first few days even though you're shedding virus. You are most contagious just prior to symptoms The point of closing spaces is to force people who FEEL FINE from spreading the virus further.
- s1artibartfast 7y ago
  >You are most contagious just prior to symptoms Do you have a reputable source for that? The WHO, CDC, and EU state that asymptomatic transmission is minor if it happens at all
  - koheripbal 7y ago
    Yes, the most recent episode of TWIV, dedicated to Coronavirus.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
pdr2020 7y ago
The onus is on employees to "feel insecure" and take extended work-from-home time, instead of being the default position that one can opt out of. In practice, that means most don't exercise that option and those who do for any real length of time take a career hit (unknowingly).
- anonymous1457 7y ago
  Actually I'm going to work the whole next week at home and most of my team mates will do the same even though we don't really feel unsafe at work compared to anywhere else. Given the current situation I'd say that you probably have more chances to contract the virus when taking public transport or going to public spots/events than I have at work :-)
  - koheripbal 7y ago
    Statistically speaking, that's probably not quite true. It's hard to say without more details, but I suspect there are more people in that office that are infected. Are they decontaminating the office? How many emps are there in the Zurich office?
- ddalex 7y ago
  This isn't the US, this is Europe where employees have rights such as sick days, and they use them, so somebody having an absence from the office due to health reasons is pretty common - certainly not special in any sense to get a career hit out of it.
gentleman11 7y ago
I think this comment is far more newsworthy than the original article
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

cnst 7y ago

You just gotta have those snacks and catered lunch, don't you? :p

vsareto 7y ago

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/symptoms.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/symptoms.htm... Symptoms should not be what causes people to stay home or not If someone has symptoms, they could have been infecting others for up to 14 days prior

joshuamorton 7y ago
There's fairly little evidence that COVID spreads from unsymptomatic carriers. They may, but not significantly.
- vsareto 7y ago
  Yalemedicine isn't the CDC, but not a bad data point? https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/covid-19/ https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/covid-19/ >The CDC believes SARS-CoV-2 is contagious during the incubation period, which is believed to be 14 days, and symptoms of COVID-19 can appear anytime between two and 14 days after exposure. It has identified the following symptoms
  - joshuamorton 7y ago
    From elsewhere: > It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads. This doesn't mean asymptomatic people can't spread the disease, but that the likelyhood of spread from asymptomatic carriers is lower (which makes a lot of sense). [0]: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission...
s1artibartfast 7y ago
from your CDC link >Can someone spread the virus without being sick? People are thought to be most contagious when they are most symptomatic (the sickest). Some spread might be possible before people show symptoms; there have been reports of this occurring with this new coronavirus, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.
- koheripbal 7y ago
  So to be clear, people CAN spread the virus before they are noticeably symptomatic, even if they are not at PEAK virulence.

mondoshawan 7y ago

Can confirm -- also a Googler, but from Austin and recently Mountain View. This is both Google's default policy (not feeling well? go home) and recommendations for current conditions, with more emphasis on staying home even if you're uncomfortable. We even have a whole team dedicated to tracking this stuff and keeping Googlers safe. It's amazing how much outright hate is being spewed here over this -- it borderlines on outright panic.

FriendlyNormie 7y ago
A list should be created of all the fearmongering Alex Jones impersonators who have recently been infesting the comment sections on HN so that six months from now when we look back and see that nothing of significance actually happened as a result of this virus other than the side effects of the fearmongering, they can all be shadowbanned. I’ve seen individuals shadowbanned on HN for much less damaging behavior than this.
akhilcacharya 7y ago
> This is both Google's default policy (not feeling well? go home) I can’t imagine many tech companies (or even salaried office jobs) having very different default policies. That is sort of missing the point in an emerging pandemic.
- mondoshawan 7y ago
  Google's not my first rodeo, and I can say that many many tech companies I have worked at have unstated policies of "work until you drop" because of the startup culture that pervades tech. Google is not one of those. Just bear in mind, what you see from the news media is not rarely the whole picture -- especially when the veil of corporate secrecy is involved.
  - mav3rick 7y ago
    He undermines Google in every post. Par for the course.
- 7y ago

koheripbal 7y ago

This completely misses the point. If people are exposed, they DO NOT KNOW they are sick. There are no symptoms for the first few days even though you're shedding virus. You are most contagious just prior to symptoms The point of closing spaces is to force people who FEEL FINE from spreading the virus further.

s1artibartfast 7y ago
>You are most contagious just prior to symptoms Do you have a reputable source for that? The WHO, CDC, and EU state that asymptomatic transmission is minor if it happens at all
- koheripbal 7y ago
  Yes, the most recent episode of TWIV, dedicated to Coronavirus.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

pdr2020 7y ago

The onus is on employees to "feel insecure" and take extended work-from-home time, instead of being the default position that one can opt out of. In practice, that means most don't exercise that option and those who do for any real length of time take a career hit (unknowingly).

anonymous1457 7y ago
Actually I'm going to work the whole next week at home and most of my team mates will do the same even though we don't really feel unsafe at work compared to anywhere else. Given the current situation I'd say that you probably have more chances to contract the virus when taking public transport or going to public spots/events than I have at work :-)
- koheripbal 7y ago
  Statistically speaking, that's probably not quite true. It's hard to say without more details, but I suspect there are more people in that office that are infected. Are they decontaminating the office? How many emps are there in the Zurich office?
ddalex 7y ago
This isn't the US, this is Europe where employees have rights such as sick days, and they use them, so somebody having an absence from the office due to health reasons is pretty common - certainly not special in any sense to get a career hit out of it.

gentleman11 7y ago

I think this comment is far more newsworthy than the original article

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]