Hong Kong property agency Full Mark temporarily closes its offices as city struggles to contain Omicron outbreak
- Full Mark Property Agency has asked its 30-strong team to work from home until further notice
- Rival Midland Realty says it still allows agents to come to the office
With the coronavirus pandemic raging on in Hong Kong, businesses are adapting to the situation by cutting operating hours and asking staff to work from home.
While restaurants have been disproportionately affected by the city’s most stringent social distancing measures since the pandemic began two years ago, property brokerages have not been spared either.
Full Mark Property Agency has temporarily closed all its branches for the first time in its 31-year history. It has asked its 30-strong team to work from home until further notice since Monday.
Although the company has seen a 20 per cent decline in business in recent weeks owing to the pandemic, the decision has been made mainly to protect the health and safety of staff, a Full Mark spokeswoman said.
“This is our first time to work from home, but if any staff member needs to work at the office, they can still go there,” she said. Full Mark has 12 teams spread across five branches in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is currently battling the more transmissible strain of Omicron. On Tuesday, the city recorded 30,493 coronavirus cases and 291 deaths, which included backlogged ones. The city has logged some 500,000 cases and over 2,280 deaths so far.