The World Health Organisation officially declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, a day before India announced its first fatality due to the virus. The new strand of coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on industries — including tech — across the globe, and has resulted in a dip in sales, cancellation of major annual conferences and mandatory/advisory work from home. Here's a round-up of how the virus has affected the tech sector: In India The Delhi government has suspended biometric attendance at all its offices until further orders. The central government has issued a similar advisory, which will remain in effect until October 31. The Kerala government has suspend biometric authentication for the public distribution system, The News Minute reported. A Google employee in Bengaluru tested positive for COVID-19, following which the company asked all its employees in that office to work from home on March 13, TechCrunch reported. Number of rides on Uber and Ola have dropped by a third over the last week, since several companies have advised employees to work from home, The Economic Times reported. At the same time, around 5% of drivers on these platforms have reportedly left Bengaluru over fears of contracting the virus. Effect on the Big Tech After shutting its stores for a month in China, Apple said that it is reopening all 42 of its branded stores, Reuters reported. The company had earlier said that it will miss its quarterly revenue guidance because of the effects of the coronavirus. Apple's iPhone 11 series also reportedly took a…
