CREVE COEUR, Mo. — An employee at the Bayer campus in Creve Coeur is under investigation for coronavirus. The employee does not have a confirmed case of coronavirus.
The multi-national company first notified workers about the possible exposure Sunday night and confirmed the news in a statement Monday afternoon.
Bayer is temporarily closing the campus so it can begin deep cleaning the facility. The company says it's taking these steps out of an abundance of caution.
The employee in Creve Coeur is providing the names of the people she came in contact with and the locations she visited at the facility.
The company sent the following letter to employees Sunday:
"Dear Colleagues,
There's no doubt coronavirus (COVID-19) is consuming a lot of our attention both here at Bayer and in our personal lives. Our thoughts are with all of those impacted. Teams across the company are watching closely and acting to protect employees and the business.
We learned tonight of an employee at the Creve Coeur site who is considered a person under investigation for coronavirus infection. To be clear, the employee has not been confirmed with coronavirus.
In consultation with the Missouri Department of Health, here are the steps we are taking:
1. The employee is currently being tested through the Missouri Department of Health.
2. The employee is providing the names of the individuals they came in contact with and the locations visited at the site.
3. Those individuals are being contacted and asked to self-quarantine for 14 days and to keep our Medical team informed if they become symptomatic.
4. Facilities is increasing wipe down of all common surfaces, such as doors, handrails, etc.
5. Given this happened over the weekend and we do not have the test results, we are being proactive and proceeding with caution by giving employees the option to not come into the office while we obtain additional direction from local health authorities related to next steps for the site.
If you decide to work from home, please inform your manager. In addition, in Whippany, NJ, we are aware of potential exposure of four employees who are associated with that site. Those individuals are self-quarantined and are currently not showing any symptoms. This situation is being closely monitored by the Medical department. If you decide to work from home, please inform your manager.
If you plan to travel to Creve Coeur or Whippany, please keep this information in mind. Your decision to travel or not will be supported. Also, if you have Bayer equipment that you need for your job, like a laptop, please begin to take it home each night. This is a precautionary measure in case any fast-moving decisions need to be made about any of our U.S. facilities.
As previously communicated, if you are not feeling well, please stay home and do not come into the office. Also, please continue to follow the BayerNet Coronavirus page for the latest news and ways you can help protect yourself. In addition, remember that our Employee Assistance Program is available to you for support.
The nature of this situation is very fluid. The safety and well-being of our employees remains our top priority. We will continue to update you with additional information and recommendations as they become available.
We appreciate your cooperation and continued support.
U.S. Crisis Management Team"
Missouri's only positive case of COVID-19 is in St. Louis County.
A 20-year-old St. Louis County woman who recently traveled to Italy is the state’s first “presumptive positive” case of coronavirus, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced Saturday night.
At this time, health officials throughout Missouri are monitoring people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus or traveled to places that put them at risk of exposure.
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