Staff Reports
A fourth TSA screening officer at Orlando International Airport has tested positive for the coronavirus, the agency said Sunday.
The screening officer last worked Monday at the airport’s East Checkpoint from 4 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Transportation Security Administration said the worker is quarantined and resting at home.
“Security screening checkpoints remain open and the agency is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Orange County Department of Health to monitor the situation as well as the health and safety of our employees and the traveling public,” the agency said.
TSA has authorized screening personnel who routinely come into close contact with travelers to wear surgical masks if they choose to do so. The agency has also started adjusting its procedures to increase social distancing and reduce direct contact between our employees and travelers when possible.
On its website, the TSA tells employees or travelers who may have been in contact with a person who tests positive for COVID-19 to consult their health care provider. Employees will not be required to use accrued annual or sick leave during this period.
“TSA employees who work the same shift and may have come in contact with the officer who tested positive during the past 14 days have been alerted about the situation so that they can take action as appropriate,” the agency said.
Last week, the TSA reported a first Orlando screening officer who had worked at the West Checkpoint from 2:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on March 15 tested positive.
On Friday, the TSA reported two other West Checkpoint screening officers had tested positive. One last worked a shift from noon to 8:30 p.m. on March 11 and the other last worked from 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on March 10.
“Employees or travelers who believe they may have been in contact with a person who tests positive for COVID-19 should consult with their healthcare provider,” according to the TSA.
One comment
Thomas Knapp
March 22, 2020 at 3:49 pm
All TSA employees need to be furloughed immediately. At this point, they are probably the primary vector for contagion in the US. And if TSA was ever necessary or desirable (it wasn’t), it is less so at the moment due to international traffic and any associated terror threat being way down.
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