Cargill Halts International Travel For Its Staff Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Cargill, a global agribusiness conglomerate based in Minnesota, has decided to stop all non-essential overseas business travel among its employees for the next two weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Any essential international travel will first have to be approved by the company's executive team.

The company also asked employees who have traveled to areas In China or Italy that are effected by the coronavirus to work from home for the next two weeks as a precaution, according to multiple reports.

The coronavirus has now infected about 80,000 people in more than 40 countries – killing more than 2,500 people. On Wednesday, President Trump held a press conference to discuss the outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also called on U.S. officials to prepare for a "coronavirus epidemic."

Cargill released the following statement on Wednesday:

"As coronavirus continues to impact people across the globe, we are committed to taking every precaution to help keep our employees healthy and safe—and to do our part in limiting the spread of the virus. Based on input from the World Health Organization and other agencies, we have announced that Cargill has stopped all non-essential, international business travel for the next two weeks. This includes travel across countries within a region, whether by air, train or other mode of transportation."