A total of 236 financial companies have adopted work-from-home programs, nearly double the 124 firms that had done so as of Monday, amid a surge in COVID-19 infections, Financial Supervisory Commission data showed yesterday.
The number of securities investment trust and consulting companies that allow telecommuting grew threefold from Monday, as most of their staff do not need to interact with customers in-person, the commission said.
The commission has talked with local insurers about the issue and would allow them to use software such as mobile apps to enable sales agents to talk with customers through videoconference, it said.
The software should record a sales agent’s marketing process so insurers can verify that they do not contravene internal controls, it added.
Seven financial companies have reported COVID-19 infections among their personnel, including Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), state-run Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合庫銀行), EnTie Commercial Bank (安泰銀行), Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行) and Chunghwa Post Co (中華郵政).
Banks are required to notify customers and publicly announce when employees have contracted COVID-19, and must also disinfect the workplace, Banking Bureau Chief Secretary Phil Tong (童政彰) told a videoconference in Taipei.
Separately, chipmaker Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) yesterday said that one employee tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday and has been quarantined, adding that the person is not a production line worker.
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), the nation’s biggest telecom company, said that an outsourcing worker has tested positive for the disease. The employee has entered quarantine, and the company has disinfected the building in which they worked and plans a second disinfection over the weekend.
Additional reporting by Lisa Wang
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