Eastman: Two Kingsport employees test positive for COVID-19
Eastman Chemical Company says two of their Kingsport employees have tested positive for COVID-19.
Spokesperson Betty Payne confirmed the news on Sunday, stating the two individuals have been away from work since March 17th, and are receiving the appropriate care. Payne also says the local health department is contacting other employees who worked closely with these two individuals.
Payne says because of the size of their work force, it was only a matter of time before some of their employees tested positive for COVID-19. Early on, Eastman asked some of their employees to work from home, and those on site to limit contact with others.
Eastman officials continue to ask everyone in the community to practice social distancing, which they say is a critical part of slowing down the spread of the virus. The company says they continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure their employees and operations stay safe. Below is a full statement from Eastman:
“We have received confirmation that two team members at our Kingsport location have tested positive in the past couple of days for COVID-19. Both team members have been away from work since March 17 and are currently receiving the appropriate medical care from healthcare providers. We wish them a full and quick recovery and have offered support and outreach to them and their families. We can’t say more due to HIPAA’s privacy rule, but our thoughts and prayers are with them through this time.
The local public health department is in contact with other team members who worked closely with these individuals, in accordance with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance and requirements. The ongoing health and well-being of our team members is our top priority and we will conduct proper disinfection of the potentially affected spaces in accordance with CDC guidelines.
With an employee population of our size, it was just a matter of time that some of our own team members would test positive as COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly across the U.S. That’s why we acted early, asking some of our team members to work from home and those on site to do so in the smallest groups possible or with limited access and contact to other areas.
We continue to ask everyone in our community to be a leader in demonstrating that social distancing is absolutely critical if we want to come out of this situation quicker by slowing the spread of the virus in our communities.
We’re monitoring the situation closely and continue to take appropriate measures daily to ensure our team members are safe and our operations are being run safely.”
