Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
- An ASX employee has contracted Covid-19
- Following the diagnosis, some 20 other ASX employees were isolated and are now required to work from home
- As soon as symptoms were displayed, the employee began to self-isolate
- According to the exchange, the worker was based at the ASX’s Bridge Street office in Sydney
- Despite the isolation, the employee has mild symptoms, is in good spirits, and is not in need of hospitalization
- The ASX has enacted its business continuity program, with all secondary staff required to work from home until further notice
- On the stock exchange, ASX shares are trading 4.25 per cent higher at $67.51 each
An ASX employee has now tested positive for Covid-19 and approximately 20 other ASX staff have been isolated at home as the pandemic starts to affect institutions globally.
The ASX has committed to taking a very cautious approach to ensure the wellbeing of their staff and have sent the employee home for 14 days of isolation.
The ASX employee in question presented with symptoms last week, and self-isolated on the recommendations of health authorities in line with ASX Policy.
The employee has mild symptoms, is in good spirits, and is not in need of hospitalization.
Some 20 other ASX employees from the Bridge Street office have been isolated at home for 14 days.
A deep clean was conducted at the office in question and there is no threat to ASX third parties, as the employee did not have any contact with ASX customers or partners.
The ASX has assured the public that the exchange has operated its technology and operations from multiple sites since 2013 to ensure uninterrupted service and optimal resiliency in the event of a crisis.
That decision to decentralize now appears to be money very well spent.
Business continuity plan
The ASX has now enacted its business continuity plan, with employees from the Bridge Street office, the Australian Liquidity Centre (ALC), secondary data centre and interstate and overseas offices asked to work from home.
The only exception to this is a core group of employees, identified in the continuity plan, who will remain on ASX sites to manage ongoing market functions, mainly in technology, operations and surveillance areas.
As one can gather, however, should any of these core employees contract Covid-19, then the ASX will have a much tougher time managing the problem.
The ASX is currently “executing arrangements for which we have prepared” to prevent this situation from occurring.
The exchange has assured the public that its business continuity plan will work, and employees will be able to conduct many functions from home.
As part of the ASX employment strategy, it already has substantial capacity for its work to work remotely, and many were working from home or on flexible work schedules before the virus struck.
On the stock exchange, ASX shares are trading 4.25 per cent higher at $67.51 each at 11:11 am AEDT.
