Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Aug 24, 2025

Singapore bank DBS evacuates 300 staff after coronavirus case surfaces

As a precautionary measure, all 300 employees on Level 43 at MBFC have been evacuated and will work from home, the bank said. Singapore has reported 50 cases of coronavirus, one of the highest number of infections outside China

Singapore’s biggest bank DBS evacuated 300 staff from its head office at Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3 on Wednesday after one of its workers tested positive for the coronavirus.

“I regret to inform you that there is one confirmed case of coronavirus at DBS Asia Central on Level 43 today,” Singapore country head Tse Koon Shee said in an internal memo.

“As a precautionary measure, all 300 colleagues on Level 43 at the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) have been evacuated and will work from home for the time being.”

When contacted for comment, DBS said one of its employees who had been tested on Tuesday for the virus was confirmed as having the infection on Wednesday morning.

“During this difficult time, the bank will be providing this employee and his family with every support and guidance,” it said in a statement.

“[In addition to the quarantine] we are also currently conducting detailed contact tracing with all employees and other parties that the infected employee may have come into contact with.”

The affected space and associated common areas such as lifts and toilets were being deep cleaned and disinfected in accordance with Ministry of Health guidelines, it added.

DBS said it has activated business continuity plans, with employees working from home or from split sites. It said staff will also receive a care pack which includes face masks, a thermometer, hand sanitiser and vitamin C.

Long queues had formed this week to enter some offices in Singapore’s financial district as employers started screening workers for temperature. Warnings by building management of cases in some downtown office buildings have also been widely shared on social media.

Some companies, including DBS, are cancelling physical results briefings and choosing to hold them via teleconference. The government has cautioned people against shaking hands as a form of greeting

Singapore has reported 50 cases of coronavirus, one of the highest number of cases outside China where it has already claimed more than 1,100 lives. There is mounting evidence of local transmission, and 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.

DBS has a 30 per cent stake in MBFC Tower 3, which serves as its headquarters. The 46-storey property is home to more than 5,000 employees, and it occupies 18 floors.

Other tenants include Rio Tinto Group and law firms Clifford Chance and WongPartnership, according to the property’s website.

A worker at an unnamed firm in nearby MBFC Tower 1 was confirmed as being infected with the coronavirus over the weekend, and another case was detected at Clifford Centre. That person is an employee of United Industrial Corp., according to an advisory to tenants in the building where UIC is located.

Standard Chartered Plc is an anchor tenant at Tower 1. The British has declined to comment on whether the virus case comes from among its employees.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
×