Google holds off on reopening US offices due to the latest COVID-19 spike

On Tuesday, California saw its highest single-day increase in cases (8,441) since the start of the pandemic. The US also saw its biggest one-day spike, with 47,000 new cases.

Google originally planned to bring necessary employees in on a “rotating basis,” with about 10 percent capacity. The company hoped to slowly increase that capacity to 30 percent by September. Google will likely take a similar, phased approach when it does eventually open, and it has promised “rigorous” safety measures.

Google employees have been working from home since early March, and the company said they will not be forced to return for the remainder of 2020. Facebook told its employees to work from home for the rest of the year, too. Amazon HQ employees are working from home until at least October, and Twitter will let employees work from home indefinitely.