Google extends work from home for employees till June 30, 2021

US-based search engine giant Google has decided that most of its 200,000 employees and contractors should work from home through next June.

"To give employees the ability to plan, we are extending our global voluntary work from home option through June 30, 2021 for roles that don't need to be in the office," Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said in an email to employees.

The remote-work order issued by Pichai also affects other companies owned by Google's corporate parent, Alphabet Inc. It marks a six-month extension of Google's previous plan to keep most of its offices closed through the rest of this year.

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The decision could signal similar efforts by other tech firms and large employers to extend the precautionary policy amid growing fears about the risks of returning to workplace normalcy.

Several tech firms have said they expect to reopen their offices gradually in the coming months. Twitter meanwhile has said it would allow all employees to continue on remote work indefinitely.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus has killed a total of 651,902 people and infected 16,396,954, of which 9,512,561 have been declared recovered. More than 100,000 new deaths have been recorded since July 9, and the global count has doubled in just over two months.

(With inputs from agencies)