SAN FRANCISCO - Google will allow most employees to work from home through to July 2021 in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the tech giant said Monday.

In an email to employees, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said, "To give employees the ability to plan ahead, 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."

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news, said nearly all of the 200,000 Google employees and contractors worldwide would see an extension of the option which had been set to end in January.

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.