COVID-19 outbreak reported at Bellingham post office location
An outbreak of the new coronavirus has been reported at the downtown Bellingham post office on Prospect Street, a federal official confirmed Tuesday, July 14.
Two employees tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, said Ernie Swanson, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman in Seattle.
An outbreak is two or more people from the same location, according to the Whatcom County Health Department.
“One employee was cleared by medical authorities and has returned to work,” Swanson said in an email. “The other is expected to be cleared and return to work later this week. No other employees have shown any symptoms of the virus. We are working closely with local health officials and are providing all necessary information.”
Bellingham Postmaster Daniel Canzater declined to comment when reached by phone Monday, July 13.
It was unknown if the employees had contact with customers.
Health Department officials don’t provide specific locations of outbreaks, said Amy Cloud, spokeswoman for Whatcom Unified Command, the multi-governmental agency handling local pandemic response.
“COVID-19 is spreading throughout our community; that’s why we urge people to take precautions every time they are in a public place,” Cloud said in an email.
“If there were a potential public exposure in which we could not identify close contacts, we would issue a public notice,” Cloud said.
Swanson said the risk of disease transmission via mail or packaged goods is low.
“The U.S. Postal Service is closely monitoring the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation and continues to follow strategies and measures recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health departments,” Swanson said.
“We are sharing the CDC’s guidance to our employees via stand-up talks, employee news articles, messages on bulletin boards, videos and an intranet site within USPS workplaces. Gloves are widely available for employee use,” he said.
