London is fast resembling a ghost town.

As one company after another kicks off emergency plans ordering staff not to come into the office, home working has become as normal as hoarding loo rolls.

The CBI’s Carolyn Fairbairn says this is wonderful, but in such early stages of the virus’s spread, I’m not so sure.

For every employee who stays at home, one fewer sandwich is sold by the deli. Two fewer cups of coffee are sold at the espresso bar. An extra dress or a shirt remains on the shop shelf.

The inevitable result: staff in smaller service businesses will be laid off. Maybe even this week.

Small companies will run out of cash and go bust sooner than they otherwise would.

We all know London is heading for lockdown in the coming weeks, and that the government will order businesses to switch to home working.

But why order staff home now, before the government and its medical advisers say it’s necessary?

Why add to what was already going to be a horrible economic crisis?

Far better to allow staff the option of working from home, but say it’s optional.

My guess is, given the choice, many would rather head to the office for a bit of fun and camaraderie while they still can in the knowledge that weeks of isolation at home are just around the corner.

Let them come in, spend a bit of money at lunchtime and give the local businesses some much-needed cashflow before the shutdown has to happen.

