Coronavirus outbreaks reported among 10 UPS facilities in Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES – Health officials said Thursday an outbreak of 84 patients among 10 UPS facilities spread across Los Angeles County.

“We continue to see outbreaks in manufacturing facilities, food processing facilities, the warehouse environment where workers are together for extended periods of time and may or may not have enough personal protective equipment,” said Los Angeles County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis. “Our outbreak management teams and environmental health inspector teams have been very busy conducting site visits to various (workplaces) in the province to ensure that employers do everything they can to keep their employees safe.

“We have seen what happens when protections and practices in the workplace are not in place – outbreaks occur and people can die,” he said.

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Davis said the UPS outbreak facilities involved Los Angeles, Bell, Gardena, Vernon, Cerritos, Sylmar and Van Nuys. Three of those individual outbreaks appear to be “epidemiologically linked or linked.” The affected staff served in a wide range of positions, and no deaths from the outbreak have been reported, he said.

UPS released a statement to FOX 11 on Friday morning, stating:

“UPS loves keeping our employees safe while serving our communities, and we have taken comprehensive steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. While one case is too many, the Los Angeles County Department of Health’s report reflects less than 1 percent of our more than 11,000 employees in the area, and we are hopeful for the complete recovery of each person.

UPS continuously shares the hygiene and social distance protocols suggested by the CDC with all employees. The company has adapted to our normal governance procedures and will continue to change to maintain social distance protocols. For example, we have added space between workstations within our facilities and suspended that customers have to sign up for ‘signature required’ packages. We require employees to wear masks or face masks during our operations, and when interacting with the public. We make masks available to our employees and give the guidelines to use them properly. ”

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Davis notes that a minor UPS outbreak with 10 employees occurred in June, but researchers concluded that these infections most likely occurred in the community, not in the workplace.

“I know the biggest question people can have with this is, can I get COVID-19 from a package or email,” Davis said. “According to the Centers for Disease Control, the virus can survive for a short period of time on some surfaces, but it is unlikely to spread through mail, products or packaging. Most research shows that COVID-19 is primarily spread through drips. “It’s possible that someone could get COVID 19 from touching a surface as an item that has the virus on it and then touching its eyes, mouth as much as possible its eyes. But this is not the main way the virus spreads.”

He advised people to wash their hands after opening a package or email.

CNS contributed to this report.