About 1,500 employees of Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health are staying home due to their symptoms consistent with COVID-19, the health system confirmed to Becker's April 7.
Spokesperson Mark Geary said the employees — including sick workers and those presumed to have COVID-19 — will stay home for at least seven days and until symptoms are gone. They also must not have a fever or other symptoms for at least three days, and some of the 1,500 employees are almost ready to return to work, he told Bridge Magazine.
Mr. Geary said he could not provide the number of infected physicians, and that the rest of the 1,500 workers could be anyone at Beaumont, exposed through work, by family members or in the community. Beaumont, which has about 38,000 employees, also did not disclose how many of the symptomatic workers tested positive, and noted that staff members are asked to stay home when they are sick and/or have COVID-19 symptoms, but not all are tested.
Aaron Gillingham, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Beaumont Health, told Bridge employees are tested "if they present themselves at a Beaumont [emergency center] or curbside screening and meet the guidelines to be tested."
Amid the pandemic, Beaumont is not requiring sick employees to use their paid time off for the required seven days, according to the health system.
Michigan is one of the states hardest hit by the pandemic. As of 7:25 a.m. CDT April 8, there were 18,970 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. Another large Michigan health system, Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System, reported earlier this week that 734 of its employees had tested positive for COVID-19.
This story will be updated as more information is available.
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