An Adidas Employee in Germany Tests Positive for Coronavirus

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An Adidas employee in Herzogenaurach, Germany, has tested positive for the coronavirus, the company confirmed in an email today.

According to Adidas, the employee was sent home on March 4 and is receiving medical care. The company also confirmed that other team members who were in close contact with the employee were sent home as a precaution.

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“The affected employees will stay in home-quarantine for 14 days or can return to work if the test result is negative. Additionally, critical office areas at our headquarters were deep-cleaned on Wednesday night to make the workplace safer for those that work onsite. We continue to assess each situation on a case-by-case basis to determine what measures are necessary for our employees’ safety and well-being,” Adidas said in a statement.

This isn’t the only coronavirus-related news to come from Adidas today. The athletic powerhouse also announced it is moving its annual press conference online. The event was scheduled to be hosted at its Herzogenaurach headquarters. But several people were unable to attend because of travel restrictions, and now it will become a webcast-only conference. It is scheduled for March 11.

The coronavirus has already had an adverse impact on Adidas’ business. On Feb. 5, the company announced that it was shuttering a “considerable” number of stores throughout China. It operates roughly 12,000 units in China; 500 are company owned. (It is not known how many stores have since reopened.)

On Feb. 19, Adidas said it experienced a “material negative impact” in China as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

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