Facebook is reportedly restricting its employees' travel to China amid coronavirus concerns

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

• Facebook is reportedly restricting its employees' travel to China amid global concerns about the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
• According to Bloomberg, Facebook has halted all non-essential travel to China by its staff since Monday.
• Staff who do need to travel to China will reportedly need to obtain special permission to do so, while staff who live in China are being told to stay at home.
• The coronavirus has killed more than 100 people and has reached at least 16 countries.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Facebook is taking no half-measures when it comes to the coronavirus.

According to anonymous sources who spoke to Bloomberg, Facebook has halted all non-essential travel to China by its staff, with the restrictions having come into force on Monday.

Staff who do need to travel to China must reportedly obtain special permission to do so, while Facebook staff based in China - as well as company staff who've recently returned from trips to the country - are also being told to work from home.

The coronavirus has killed more than 100 people to date. Cases have been reported in at least 16 countries around the world, including the US, Canada, France, and Australia, with over 4,500 reported in China alone.

The virus first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, and has since spread throughout China and beyond. As a result, the city of Wuhan was quarantined by Chinese authorities on Thursday.

Wuhan's mayor has said around 5 million people evacuated the city before it was quarantined, with roughly 9 million remaining in the city post-quarantine.

It's possible that Facebook will proactively seek to help curb the coronavirus if it continues to spread.

In 2014, when the deadly Ebola virus remained uncontained, the social media giant launched multiple initiatives to help try and stop the virus. These included placing a donation notification window at the top of users' news feeds.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg also donated $25 million to Ebola containment efforts along with his wife Priscilla Chan.

Business Insider has approached Facebook for comment.

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