White House Tells U.S. Agencies to Minimize ‘Face-to-Face’ Work

(Bloomberg) -- The White House instructed federal agencies to curtail “face-to-face” interactions and have their employees conduct “non-mission-critical” work from home or stop doing it, as the U.S. coronavirus outbreak expands.

The Office of Management and Budget issued a memo Tuesday night ordering all agencies in the goverrnment to immediately adjust their operations.

“The government must thoughtfully manage all our resources in a way that aligns with our desired outcome of slowing the transmission of COVID-19,” the memo said. “This aggressive posture may affect government operations as agencies work to balance the needs of mission-critical work and greater social distancing.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.