The coronavirus scare continues to sweep across the United States, and people are acting with an abundance of caution. Senator Ted Cruz, for example, placed himself in a self-quarantine after shaking hands with someone who tested positive for coronavirus.
Ted Cruz isn’t taking any chances after he shook hands with someone who tested positive for coronavirus. In a statement on Twitter, Cruz announced that he was placing himself under quarantine.
“I’m not experiencing any symptoms, and I feel fine and healthy. Given that the interaction was 10 days ago, that the average incubation period is 5-6 days, that the interaction was for less than a minute, and that I have no current symptoms, the medical authorities have advised me that the odds of transmission from the other individual to me were extremely low,” said Cruz in the statement.
Today I released the following statement: pic.twitter.com/XGXEa4ozcg
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 8, 2020
Cruz released the statement on March 8, though he has already been under quarantine in his house in Texas for almost two weeks. He has four days remaining.
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Employees at the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley have been instructed to work from home after a fellow worker tested positive for coronavirus.
A NASA Ames spokesperson told Business Insider that the “mandatory telework status” is effective immediately.
“Out of an abundance of caution, Ames will temporarily go to a mandatory telework status until further notice,” said the center in a statement. “Limiting personnel at the center will allow Ames medical personnel and public health officials to determine potential contacts and assess areas that may require additional cleaning and mitigate potential exposure to center personnel.”
It’s unsurprising that the institution is being extra careful. Workplaces everywhere should treat the possibility of coronavirus spread with the attention it would give to an employee’s serious injury. Attorneys and lawsuits are the last thing a business needs to deal with in the midst of this outbreak.
“The safety of our employees and their families is our top priority,” added the center. “Any decisions we have made, or will make, is with the safety of our workforce in mind.”
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Bill gates’ charity is funding a new home-testing kit for the coronavirus. They hope to be able to distribute the kits starting in Seattle in the coming weeks.
The kit will enable those in the hardest-hit areas to swab their noses and then send in the kits for analysis. The results would be available within 1-2 days. Local health officials could see the results as well.
If someone tests positive, they will also be asked to share information online about who they were in contact with and where they’ve recently traveled.
They want to help health officials quickly notify others who may need to be tested or quarantined as a precautionary measure.
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