A US Postal Service employee has tested positive for the coronavirus in the Seattle area — as the Pacific Northwest grapples with an outbreak, according to a report.
USPS said the employee is a woman who works at a package-sorting facility in Federal Way, which is a suburb of Seattle, KING-TV reported.
The woman, whose condition is not known, is recovering while the King County facility is closed for cleaning services, the report said.
She would not have had handled any mail or packages, but may have been in contact with other employees, the company said, adding it has been advised by the county health department that the risk to other employees is low.
“No mail is delivered from the facility,” USPS said in a statement to KIRO-TV reported. “It is sorted and transported to individual post offices, from which the parcels are delivered to customers.”
The development comes as county health officials on Sunday announced two more cases of the coronavirus, bringing the county total to six and the state’s tally to eight.
The new patients — both men in their 60s with underlying health issues — were hospitalized at Valley Medical Center in nearby Renton. One of the patients is in critical but stable condition, while the other is critical, officials said.
The region’s outbreak claimed the life of a man in his 50s on Saturday — the nation’s first coronavirus-related death.
There are at least 72 cases in the US, including 44 former passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
