[ad_1]
SAN FRANCISCO – Some Google employees are alarmed at not having learned earlier that a colleague with measles had bypassed the buildings of their Silicon Valley headquarters – including a restaurant on campus – two weeks ago , according to information posted on the forum by BuzzFeed News.
Many are discussing how to protect themselves and their families and how they could be exposed to the highly contagious virus after learning that the unidentified person had spent time in a Mountain View office building on April 4th. .
A small group of employees was informed of the incident more than a week later, on April 13, when a doctor from the company sent them an email about the " Googling "infected, as reported for the first time BuzzFeed News Wednesday. Sometime on Tuesday, a warning leaflet is mounted at the restaurant.
However, for many other employees, the report was the first time they heard about the potential health risk on their campus, where thousands of people work, because no broader message was sent until Thursday. Some were annoyed by the fact that their employer did not ring the bell faster and more widely.
"A little embarrassing that I had to learn more through this group, via an article in BuzzFeed News, rather than through Google's official internal communications," wrote a Googler on a company discussion forum.
On Thursday morning, the staff doctor sent a message to several internal employee groups, reassuring them that they were safe, while acknowledging that his communication had been "slow".
BuzzFeed News learned that not only was the potentially infected person at the office located at 1295 Charleston Road, but also at Fishfood Café, located on campus, a five-minute walk. It's unclear how the restaurant, which serves mussels, grilled fish and other no-cost foods, may have been at the time, but Google provides workers with free meals to keep them there. .
A public health notice now in the restaurant informs clients that a "person who may have been contagious with measles" was present from 18h to 19h50. April 4, according to the pamphlet photos, dated Tuesday.
"Measles spreads very easily in the air," he notes.
The reported case is part of a historic resurgence of measles in the United States. At least 555 people were infected this year with the virus, which was eliminated in 2000, according to the CDC. Public health experts attribute this increase in part to the spread of anti-vaccine falsehoods on social networks, including YouTube, which recently removed advertisements from known anti-vaccine video channels, under public pressure.
According to the CDC, it takes an average of 14 days for the virus to develop after exposure to the first rash. People can pass it from four days before to four days after the onset of rash.
After the story of BuzzFeed News was released on Wednesday, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department confirmed that an unidentified adult resident of San Mateo County "having visited Google" had contracted measles. The infection is unrelated to other cases in the county and there is no additional risk to health, the agency said. A spokesman for Google confirmed Thursday that this person was a Mountain View employee.
The agency informed Google of the diagnosis last Friday. The company then warned "all colleagues who might have rubbed shoulders with this individual" and "for the sake of caution" of all those working in Charleston (1295) and next to the hotel (12:45), said the staff physician David Kaye, employees in his email on Thursday. , which Google shared with BuzzFeed News.
The person was on the Mountain View campus only on April 4, while being potentially contagious, wrote Kaye, and Google "was unaware of any other case".
"I apologize for the slow response, and I'm really sorry, that worries people," he wrote. But he added that this news "will reassure you if all goes well".
For some Googlers, especially those with children, this insurance may have been too small and too late.
"I saw only the following notice," wrote an employee of an internal group called "New Pregnant Parents," referring to the BuzzFeed News article. "Has anyone seen the detailed route?" We have a newborn at home and we wonder if it is necessary to request the vaccine as a special case. "
"This is very worrying … would also like to know more," said another.
On the Fishfood Cafe public health advisory, another employee wrote, "You do not know why REWS or GSOC are not sending it." These are apparent references to the operations center of the Fishfood Cafe. real estate and workplace and the global security of society.
Some workers wondered if a booster shot against measles would help protect them. "I hope that Google will be able to offer an on – site clinic as they do for influenza vaccines," wrote one of them. (The CDC says that a reminder is not necessary for people who have received two doses as children.)
At the Google office in Kirkland, Washington, a state that had a measles outbreak earlier this year, a head of the office's food team released the news in a note that also included precautions and preventative measures.
"Even though there is a very low possibility of spreading the virus, we have a lot of visitors on our campuses and they may have been exposed without our knowledge," wrote the manager.
Meanwhile, a googler urged his colleagues not to fall for the conspiracy theories that they might encounter, well, Google.
"Scary … People do not believe in everything you see on the Internet – the Earth is not flat, 9/11 was not a hoax invented by the government, and it turns out that getting vaccinated you and your children are good! "
[ad_2]
Source link