In a tweet on May 3, 24 News Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mohsin Naqvi said, “We have decided to close down the head office from Monday (today) evening onward till further notice. We have moved all necessary operations to some other place to keep our screen up.”
Naqvi added that 90 percent of his staff will work from home as ensuring safety of his staff is top priority. “We are currently working on to ensure the safety and minimum movement of the field staff", Naqvi informed.
https://twitter.com/MohsinnaqviC42/status/1256896727254269952
Earlier, the channel management faced criticism for not allowing the staff to work from home even after a couple of their employees had tested positive for Covid-19 in March.
An employee of 24 News in Islamabad has confirmed the news that two of their Lahore based colleagues have been infected. However, when contacted, the Lahore office avoided to respond to the question.
The Coronavirus pandemic has already led to the closure of a many media offices and the media owners who were resisting the closure of media workplaces are now following the work-from-home strategy.
Last week, in a similar tweet, ARY News CEO Salman Iqbal had announced closure of ARY News Islamabad Bureau after eight employees included drivers, DSNG persons and cameramen were tested positive for Covid-19. The management had tested as many as 20 of its employees and eight were tested positive. The ARY News staff was also directed to work from home.
Likewise, the ICT administration had sealed APP head office after an employee was tested positive for covid-19. However, the APP staffer died after few days.
So far, at least two journalists have died and 38 others have tested positive for Coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan.