Covid-19 pandemic: Big Tech makes jabs mandatory, Twitter closes offices

Twitter started allowing employees back to its campuses in San Francisco and New York

Twitter is shutting its reopened offices in United States, while other Big Tech companies are making vaccination mandatory for on-campus employees, as the highly-infectious Delta Covid-19 variant drives a resurgence in cases.

Alphabet Inc’s Google and Facebook said on Wednesday all US employees must get vaccinated to step into offices. Google is also planning to expand its vaccination drive to other regions in the coming months.

Twitter, which on Wednesday also paused future office reopenings, had started allowing employees back to its campuses in San Francisco and New York at 50 per cent capacity about a fortnight ago after more than 16 months.

Health authorities on Tuesday said Americans fully vaccinated against Covid-19 should go back to wearing masks in indoor public places in regions where the coronavirus is spreading rapidly.

San Francisco-based ride-hailing company Lyft, which had already made vaccinations mandatory for employees returning to the office, postponed its reopening to February from September. “We anticipate the Covid situation will remain fluid for the upcoming months, making it difficult for us to land a clear return date without a possibility of moving it again,” Lyft CEO Logan Green said in a memo to staff.

According to a Deadline report, streaming giant Netflix has also implemented a policy mandating vaccinations for the cast and crew on all its US productions.