In a statement to The Verge, a company spokesperson said that based on its continued consultation with health and data experts, “we’ve shifted our earliest date for the full opening of our US worksites to September 7, 2021”.

“We continue to review the situation on a local basis in each region/country/state where we work and will adjust dates by country as needed,” the spokesperson said on Friday. The company said in March it will reopen the offices in six phases.

“In stage 6, COVID-19 is no longer a significant burden on the local community and presents itself more like an endemic virus such as the seasonal flu. In this final stage of the dial, most pandemic-specific work site requirements and prevention measures are removed, enabling nearly all campus services to return,” Kurt DelBene, Executive Vice President, Microsoft, had said. Currently, Microsoft work sites in 21 countries have been able to accommodate additional workers in its facilities - representing around 20 per cent of its global employee population. Microsoft has over 160,000-strong global workforce.

Microsoft, along with other tech giants like Apple, Facebook and Google, allowed its employees to work from home last year as the novel coronavirus pandemic spread in countries around the world.