SBS shuts down Sydney Newsroom after positive COVID-19 test

SBS has been forced to shut down its Sydney newsroom after an employee informed management today they had tested positive to COVID-19.

A spokesperson for SBS confirmed the matter in a media statement to TV Blackbox stating;

An SBS employee based in the Sydney newsroom has tested positive for COVID-19. As a result of social distancing measures implemented by SBS, this staff member has had minimal contact within the office and with other employees.

The health and safety of our employees remains our top priority.

The employee was last in the office on Friday 20 March. Immediate close contacts have already been identified and are self-isolating, and we are continuing a more comprehensive tracing exercise.

There is no impact for SBS employees outside of Sydney’s newsroom. SBS is strictly complying with health and safety advice and protocols in response to this matter.

While the newsroom has been thoroughly cleaned a number of times since Friday, SBS has closed the area immediately for additional sanitisation, and all staff working in that area have gone home. The newsroom is expected to reopen tomorrow, Wednesday 25 March.

As an essential service, particularly during this time, SBS will continue its news operations. We have comprehensive business continuity plans, our technology and resources are in place to ensure employees can work flexibly, where feasible. This evening’s SBS World News bulletin will be broadcast but in a different format.

TV Blackbox understands tonight’s bulletin will be presented from SBS’s studio facility in Canberra with journalist Brett Mason reading the bulletin. It is understood the bulletin has been reduced to 30 minutes due to technical restraints.