INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly and Co. is asking some of its employees to work from home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus on its campus, a company spokesman said Sunday.
Eli Lilly corporate communications director Scott MacGregor said in a statement the pharmaceutical company is focusing on two priorities, which are, "protecting the health and safety of our employees, and protecting our ability to make and supply safe medicines for patients who rely on them."
The majority of workers who will stay home are office-based employees, MacGregor said. People who work in manufacturing and research will continue to work at the company's facilities.
Lilly employs 11,000 people in Indianapolis, but MacGregor said the company does not have a specific number of employees that will be affected. The company is also restricting domestic travel among its U.S. employees.
"We have a unique responsibility to ensure continuity in our manufacturing facilities and R&D labs," MacGregor said. "By minimizing staff in our offices, we are reducing risk of inadvertent transmission to workers who don’t have the option of continuing to do their important work from home (particularly those who work with specialized equipment or in specialized facilities."
MacGregor said there is not a specific timeline for how long the employees will be asked to stay home and the company will continue to monitor the situation.
