CDC, NIH report COVID-19 positive employees

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed the first case of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) in a CDC employee. Laboratory testing done at CDC confirmed this diagnosis. This individual is in good condition and is isolated to prevent spread of infection to others. Our best wishes go to the employee for a rapid and full recovery.

This individual was not involved in the COVID-19 response, has not been present in the CDC workplace since March 6, and was asymptomatic at that time. Staff working in the same unit are teleworking while we will do a deep cleaning of the office space.

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 spread of the virus.

At the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the agency informed its staff early Sunday morning that it has its first known case of an NIH staff member who has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. NIH has reported the case to state and local public health officials. While this is an unfortunate development, it is not surprising, and NIH expects that there will be more cases of infection among NIH staff.

The individual works for the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases but is not involved in patient care. The individual is quarantined at home and doing well. Importantly, the individual was asymptomatic while at work, which is believed to lower the risk of transmission. After developing symptoms, the individual took the appropriate action, stayed home and called the NIH Occupational Medical Service (OMS), which is managing potential COVID-19 infection among NIH staff. OMS arranged testing, and the result was positive. NIH commends the infected individual for following the NIH guidance, which has allowed us to take swift action.

OMS and the NIH Clinical Center Hospital Epidemiology Service have identified staff who work in close proximity to this individual and may have been exposed. Those individuals have been contacted and will be screened for symptoms as soon as possible and asked to self-quarantine at home if their exposure constitutes a significant risk of infection according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. OMS will monitor them closely for infection.