Third Black & Veatch worker being monitored for coronavirus; no confirmed cases
Update: The Black & Veatch employee tested negative for the coronavirus, the company said Friday.
Employees at Black & Veatch in Johnson County were sent home on Thursday after the company became aware of a third employee who might have been exposed to the new coronavirus through travel, the company said in a statement.
Last week, the engineering firm announced that two employees were in self-isolation after returning from a business trip overseas. They might have been exposed on their flight home.
The third case “is unrelated to the professionals who are in self-quarantine and remain symptom free,” the company said.
“At this time, we do not have any confirmed cases, but are requesting that all personnel leave our World Headquarters Building so that an environmental cleaning crew can disinfect the building to reduce potential risk factors.”
A company spokesman said the third employee had traveled both internationally and domestically, but the spokesman did not know what countries were visited. He said that since January the company has placed restrictions on employee travel to countries the World Health Organization has warned about.
After concerns arose about the first two employees, all work spaces and public areas at the company’s headquarters in Overland Park were cleaned overnight.
In addition, the company asked other employees who came in close contact with their two colleagues to self-quarantine at home, for two weeks. It did not say how many workers that affected.
Under local and federal health guidelines, those other employees could have continued to go to work, a company spokesman said, but out of an abundance of caution, Black & Veatch decided to go beyond those recommendations.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 8:33 PM.
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