The African Union has advised its staff to work from home starting Thursday.
Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahama in a memo said the move followed the directive from the Ethiopian authorities.
Ethiopia had on March 17 asked all government employees to work from home effective March 25 as one of the precautionary measures to curtail the spread of the disease.
This will see critical services remain in operation.
Mahama said the decision is in line with AU's preparedness and action plan to ensure business continuity.
"With effect from March 26 and until further notice, staff at the AU Commission Headquarters and PANVAC should work from home, at their duty stations and be accessible for tasks assigned to them by their supervisors to the full extent compatible with business continuity," Mahama said in the memo.
He said directors and supervisors will continue to assign and coordinate the work of their teams and accordingly staff members are expected to deliver on their assignments within the deadlines set.
"All staff are requested to make themselves available for communication by phone, email, WhatsApp and other AU platforms," he said.
According to him, all staff are required to keenly read the guidelines provided by MIS on teleworking and virtual/online meetings and to ensure all the recommended communication tools and software are installed in their laptops and smart devices.
As a result of the measures, Mahama said all staff have been asked not to travel out of their duty stations.
"All key staff members providing critical and essential services from the security and safety, Africa CDC, Medical and Health services, IT, Finance, Human resources management, registry, Administration and Procurement departments will remain to support continued functioning of the organisation,' Mahama said.
The chairperson said all officials and staff members in offices, organs and agencies outside Ethiopia have been asked to strictly follow all directives of their respective host governments and organisations.
According to Mahama, AU staff members have been asked to avoid any type of gathering or unnecessary city movements.
He said the decision will be reviewed after three weeks.
The welfare of staff and their families remain our central priority, we urge them to remain calm, adhere to precautionary measures and keep safe as we navigate this challenging moment together," Mahama said.
