Yahoo Finance Report: Rangers employees ‘terrified’ after multiple positive coronavirus tests, lax safety measures
Texas Rangers employees are “terrified” for their health and safety after several co-workers tested positive for COVID-19 this week, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Employees were reportedly urged to work at their offices at Globe Life Field earlier this month, too, something that has only added to the fear. No specific mandate was ever made to force workers to be at the offices during the coronavirus pandemic, however a memo obtained by CBS Sports suggests that working from home was not an option for many employees.
Rangers employees were told in an email on Thursday that “several members” of the organization had tested positive for the coronavirus, though it’s not clear how many.
“We are terrified for our safety,” a team employee told ESPN anonymously on Friday. “Terrified to share COVID-19 unknowingly, with an older employee, a pregnant co-worker or anyone else who may have some sort of underlying condition.
“We all knew it would come to this. It was only a matter of time.”
There were more than 2.4 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States as of Friday night, according to The New York Times, and more than 125,000 deaths attributed to it. Texas had more than 142,000 cases alone, and set a new daily-record with more than 6,500 coronavirus cases in a single day on Thursday, too.
[ Coronavirus: How the sports world is responding to the pandemic ]
More than 100 people work in the team’s executive offices at the stadium and more than 200 people are there each day, per the report. Many, employees told ESPN, are not wearing masks inside either.
The stadium has also held high school graduations in recent weeks, which has only increased the amount of people in and around the park.
The team, per the report, said it will sanitize their offices this weekend and offer coronavirus testing to employees when they return on Monday and Tuesday. It may “reassess their work-from-home policy in the days thereafter.”
“Over the last 48 hours, the Texas Rangers have received notification that several of our employees have received a positive test for COVID-19. The Rangers immediately began the protocols that we have in place for positive COVID tests, and any employee who had direct contact with these individuals was sent home and will undergo COVID-19 testing,” the Rangers said in a statement, via ESPN. “No individuals will be allowed back into the facility without receiving a negative COVID-19 test.
“The health and safety of our employees are a top priority, and the Rangers will continue to diligently enforce the pandemic protocols that are in place for front office employees at Globe Life Field. These include temperature checks upon entering the building, mandatory wearing of face coverings, and regular sanitation and cleaning of the Globe Life Field facilities.”
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