Emails Detail Positive COVID-19 Case, Potential Exposure at FTC
At least two FTC employees working at the agency's Constitution Center reported potential COVID-19 symptoms in March, and another employee tested positive for the virus in Atlanta, according to emails we obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
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The agency tracked exposure in March and considered identifying other employees for self-isolation, an FTC spokesperson emailed Tuesday. “When FTC offices were open the agency was tracking and reporting new cases to the extent the person (in Atlanta) may have been in FTC offices and therefore there was a need to identify others to self-isolate. However, FTC offices have been closed for months now.”
A March 18 email from FTC Space and Facilities Management Director Linda Wilson to property managers describes at least two separate individuals reporting symptoms on two separate floors at the Constitution Center. One of the individuals attended a conference, Wilson wrote: “Getting list of attendees. This could get worst" (sic). The individual’s doctor recommended quarantine in place due to test shortages, Wilson wrote.
Southeast Region Director Anna Burns in a March 23 email to staff confirmed the positive test for the individual in that region: “Safety of those who potentially could be exposed obviously is our highest concern.”
“Since the employee has symptoms and looks to have been in several offices on the 6th floor, I’d recommend deep cleaning all the 6th floor offices and common areas,” Hines Senior Property Manager Mei Moy-Lui wrote Wilson. Asked whether the deep cleaning was done and if the agency is taking other precautions, the agency didn’t comment Friday.
In addition to the positive case, the agency dealt with at least two possible COVID-19 exposures in Atlanta, Chief Administrative Services Officer Valerie Green wrote in a March 18 email to a General Services Administration employee. According to emails from Wilson, the infected individual was diagnosed March 15, and all employees went to full-time telework March 12, which is when the individual last occupied the space. The person visited the building’s elevators, male restroom and food court, according to documents. Others from the office weren't showing symptoms, Wilson wrote.
The FTC declined to comment on whether the employee has resumed work or whether others have been exposed: “The agency is prohibited from disclosing an individual’s medical condition (including recovery).” The FTC created an agencywide pandemic response team and a pandemic-specific plan to address evolving COVID-19 issues in April (see 2004150070).
The FTC suspended noncritical domestic and international travel in March (see 2003170012) and released guidance about minimizing involvement in noncritical large gatherings. A March 6 email from Economics Bureau Director Andrew Sweeting describes the agency’s staff travel restrictions, including “not attending academic conferences.”
Editor's note: This is part of an ongoing series about how communications stakeholders, including regulators, are addressing the novel coronavirus. A similar FOIA request we made at the FCC remains pending. For stories about how the FCC is addressing the virus, see 2004140048 and 2003120063. The latest such article is in this issue (see 2006040050) For a recent report about Capitol Hill going virtual for some hearings: 2005180042.