SpaceX Worker Tests Positive For COVID-19, Some Employees Sent Home

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A SpaceX employee and a health care worker from One Medical, a health care provider at the company’s headquarters, have tested positive for COVID-19.

What Happened

A SpaceX employee, as well as a health care worker at SpaceX’s Hawthorne, California headquarters, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus COVID-19, leading to some employees being sent for home quarantine.

One Medical is reaching out to SpaceX employees who may have been exposed to the COVID-19 positive individual.”Our clinical team advised these employees to self-quarantine while monitoring for symptoms related to coronavirus,” reported CNBC.

Why It Matters

SpaceX has asked employees to carry out self-quarantine at home and monitor their health for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days. One Medical has asked all its healthcare providers, including the ones near SpaceX’s headquarters in Los Angeles, to stay home and get tested immediately.

SpaceX faced its first coronavirus related delay when SAOCOM 1B Earth-observation satellite’s planned launch on March 30 was delayed. 

Elon Musk-led SpaceX is handing out protective gear and manufacturing hand sanitizer to calm those employees who are required to keep working, according to CNBC. SpaceX has been telling employees they are part of a business sector deemed critical.

Some workers who feel uncomfortable have taken off sick and vacation days. Employees that test positive will get 10 additional sick days, but testing for the coronavirus is difficult in California due to a shortage of testing kits.

What Else 

Musk's Tesla Inc. TSLA suspended production at its factory in Fremont, California, after local authorities imposed restrictions on non-essential businesses. The company also had to temporarily suspend production at its New York factory. 

In March, Tesla issued a statement recognizing challenges employees and their families were facing from continued operations.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of SpaceX.