At least one employee, and one outside healthcare worker at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, have tested positive for COVID-19, forcing others to be put in quarantine, reports CNBC, citing an internal company memo it says it has seen.
SpaceX is Elon Musk's venture that works on rockets and satellites, from design through manufacturing, testing and launch.
Image source: Getty Images.
Taking care of workers
For employees still coming to work, SpaceX is reportedly handing out protective equipment including N95 masks and surgical gloves and also reportedly plans to make its own hand sanitizer. The company has asked some employees to remain home in self quarantine for 14 days, monitoring themselves for signs of illness, according to CNBC.
One Medical, a membership-based primary care practice, is the on-site healthcare provider for the facility. It alerted SpaceX that employees may have been exposed to COVID-19, and advised the company to initiate the self-quarantine, according to CNBC.
The company memo reportedly explained that an employee who had traveled internationally had tested positive, and that a staff member for the One Medical on-site health center subsequently also tested positive. The other SpaceX employees that were sent for self-quarantine had been seen by the care provider in the prior three days.
The CNBC report said that other workers who did not feel comfortable at work were given permission to stay home using sick or vacation days and that any employee testing positive would be given 10 additional sick days.
