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CDC employee confirmed to have coronavirus

Published  March 16, 2020 4:27pm EDT
Coronavirus
FOX 5 Atlanta

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ATLANTA - A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employee has tested positive for the coronavirus, the CDC announced Monday afternoon. The diagnosis was confirmed by lab testing.

"Our best wishes go to the employee for a rapid and full recovery,” a statement from the CDC read.

“After developing symptoms, the individual took the appropriate action and stayed home. CDC will handle each case with the utmost respect to privacy, while also informing potentially affected staff and taking swift measures to mitigate the spread of the virus. Please understand that out of respect for individual privacy, there are details about this case (or others moving forward) that we will not be able to share,” the CDC said.

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The CDC said the worker has been asymptomatic and has been out of the office since March 6. The worker is in good condition and isolated.

“CDC is considering and taking all necessary actions to further protect the health and safety of our workforce. CDC has been taking proactive steps to reduce the risk of infection among its workforce. These steps have included encouraging sick employees to stay home, increasing the frequency of cleaning CDC facilities, canceling large meetings and staff travel, increasing the use of teleworking among staff, and encouraging social distancing and other preventive measures,” the CDC wrote.

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The employee was not involved in the COVID-19 response and all staff in the same unit are working from home while a deep cleaning of the office takes place.

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“The health and safety of the CDC workforce is a top priority for the agency. CDC will continue to assess and improve ways to protect staff from COVID-19 and other health risks,” the CDC concluded.