An Adidas employee, based at the company’s global headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, has the coronavirus, the company confirmed to Yahoo Finance on Friday.
The employee tested positive for the virus on Wednesday, and was sent home immediately, as were employees who had close contact with the individual, as a precautionary measure.
The affected employees will stay in “home-quarantine” for 14 days, or can return to work if the test result is negative, the company says.
In addition, “critical office areas at our headquarters were deep-cleaned on Wednesday night to make the workplace safer for those that work onsite,” Adidas says. “We continue to assess each situation on a case-by-case basis to determine what measures are necessary for our employees’ safety and wellbeing.”
Earlier on Friday, Adidas Group also notified the media that its 2019 Q4 and full-year earnings event scheduled for March 11 will now be webcast-only.
“In view of the latest developments in connection with the coronavirus (COVID-19) worldwide and in Europe, we have received feedback after a survey from many of you that it is currently not possible for you to travel to Herzogenaurach due to changed travel guidelines,” the company wrote in an email. “For planning reasons and for your protection, we have therefore decided to broadcast the Adidas annual press conference on Wednesday, March 11 only via webcast on the Internet. We would therefore ask you to refrain from travelling to Herzogenaurach and apologize for any inconvenience caused.”
Adidas is hardly the only sports apparel company seeing the impact of the virus. Nike, Under Armour, Adidas and Puma have all issued warnings about the virus causing a hit to their Q1 earnings.
In the broader sports world, concerns and precautions around the virus are prompting all manner of reactions.
The NBA has told players to refrain from signing autographs or high-fiving fans for the time being; MLB has created a coronavirus task force and is encouraging players to sign balls in the locker room before spring training games to toss to fans rather than shaking hands; the National College Players Association has asked the NCAA to consider the possibility of holding March Madness games in closed arenas with no fans. In Italy, all sports events until April 3 are going to be held in closed stadiums.
And the biggest sports event of all, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, faces the possibility of full cancellation, though Tokyo officials for now say the Games should take place as planned.
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Daniel Roberts is an editor-at-large at Yahoo Finance and closely covers sports business. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite.
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