Humana says Kentucky employee has tested positive for novel coronavirus
A Humana employee in Louisville has tested presumptive positive for novel coronavirus, according to a company spokeswoman and an internal employee email.
“We can confirm that one of our employees who works in the Waterside building has preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19,” the spokeswoman said, adding that she can’t provide further details because of patient privacy laws.
“Out of an abundance of caution, employees who work in proximity to this individual have been notified and have been asked to self-quarantine and follow [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines,” she said. “They are out on leave and are being paid as usual.”
Many Humana employees were notified of the confirmed COVID-19 case in an internal email sent just before 9 a.m. Thursday morning and told not to come in to work. The email said company officials learned of the test result late Wednesday.
The employee, who works on the 12th floor of the Waterside building but hasn’t been in the office since March 2, is “receiving treatment,” and is in stable condition, the email said.
All Louisville-based Humana employees who are able to work from home should, the email advised, as a way to “lessen the person-to-person risk of transmission.”
By the end of the day Wednesday, Kentucky health officials had confirmed eight cases of the viral respiratory illness — five cases in Harrison County, two in Fayette and one in Jefferson, though the 60-year-old man in Louisville had been discharged from Norton Brownsboro Hospital earlier on Wednesday and was in home isolation, Gov. Andy Beshear said.
Beshear has advised businesses around the state to allow employees to work from home whenever possible, and for employers to provide adequate paid leave for employees so they don’t feel pressured to be in the office.
All Kentuckians should avoid crowds and large gatherings, including church services and other community gatherings, in an effort to prevent community spread of COVID-19, Beshear has advised. State prisons and similar correctional facilities have been closed indefinitely to visitors, long-term care facilities are prohibiting most visitors, and school districts have been asked to develop plans to close on short notice.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 11:10 AM.
