Sydney, Australia Sydney, Australia

King & Wood Mallesons, Norton Rose Fulbright and Jones Day are the latest major law firms in Australia to close part or all of their Sydney offices and send staff to work from home to prevent potential coronavirus transmission.

King & Wood Mallesons announced that it has at least one suspected case of COVID-19 in Sydney, which may have been contracted during overseas travel. The firm has directed all Sydney staff to work remotely until further notice, according to a statement by Berkeley Cox, the firm's Australia chief executive partner. He said the firm hopes to re-open Sydney offices next Monday but will reassess as they gather further information.

"The health and safety of our people and the community is our first priority," said Cox. "We are supporting our people and working with our clients to avoid or minimize any disruption to the service we provide during this time."

Norton Rose Fulbright told staff on five floors of its eight-floor Sydney office to work from home for the rest of the week after it learned a staff member had been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

"This person has self-isolated and is awaiting testing results, but for the abundance of caution we have implemented our contingency plans," firm Australia managing partner Wayne Spanner said in a statement, adding that the affected floors will be deep cleaned.

"The health and safety of our people, clients and the community is our primary concern," he said.

Meanwhile, Jones Day also shut a floor of its Sydney office to protect its staff against potentially catching the coronavirus, the Australian Financial Review reported. The newspaper said no one among Jones Day's Sydney staff is known to have the coronavirus and closing the floor was a precautionary measure.

Jones Day has been contacted for comment.

Sydney is the epicenter of Australia's coronavirus outbreak, with 64 of the nation's 126 confirmed cases in New South Wales as of Mar. 12, according to the Federal Department of Health.

Last week Australian firm Clayton Utz sent its Sydney employees to work from home after the grandmother of an employee's wife was found to have contracted COVID-19. Staff were told the next day they could return to work and the employee tested negative. Since then, however, his wife has tested positive for the virus, but the firm said the chance of any employees contracting the virus as a result is low.

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