US News Today : Coronavirus Force To Close Washington HQ of Securities and Exchange Commission

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MGN

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US News Today : Coronavirus scared the United Stated, the Securities and Exchange Commission employees have been told to work remotely for the foreseeable future after a coronavirus scare at the agency’s Washington headquarters.

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AP are reporting that Securities and Exchange Commission employees have been told to work remotely for the foreseeable future after a coronavirus scare at the agency’s Washington headquarters.

The agency, which oversees the financial markets, said it was informed Monday afternoon that a headquarters employee had received medical treatment for respiratory symptoms earlier in the day. The employee, who was not identified, was informed by a doctor that they may have been infected with the coronavirus and was referred for testing, the SEC said in a statement.

Among other precautions, the agency “is encouraging headquarters employees to telework until further guidance,” it said. The SEC is the first major federal agency to employ teleworking in an effort to contain the virus’ spread.

It said the scattering of headquarters employees to work from their homes or other remote locations will not affect operations. “Even with increased telework, the SEC remains able and committed to fully executing its mission on behalf of investors, including monitoring market function and working closely with other regulators and market participants,” said the agency. source

Moreover Election officials across Washington are instructing staff to wash their hands frequently and cough into tissues as they work to limit the spread of coronavirus in the state at the epicenter of the US outbreak, Hallie Golden reports from Seattle.

Anyone handling ballots is being told to wear gloves and masks too, and voters have been warned  on their postal ballots. The state is holding its primary elections on Tuesday, and is the second most delegate-rich state at stake.

Washington now votes by mail for the Democratic primary instead of holding a caucus, which Tina Podlodowski, the chair of the Washington State Democrats, said is extremely positive given the outbreak, and should help prevent disruption.

“Folks don’t have to worry,” she told the Guardian. “Folks who are older don’t have to worry, they don’t have to be waiting in line for hours and hours.”

She said they’ve already seen good voter turnout. As of Monday, 1.5 million people had voted, which is already higher than the 2016 Republican primary.

For Republicans, President Donald Trump, who does not face any serious challengers, is the only candidate to appear on the party’s primary ballot.

For Democrats, however, the primary is a crucial test of support for the two frontrunners, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, though other candidates who have dropped out in recent days, such as progressive senator Elizabeth Warren, still remain on the ballot.

Kim Wyman, secretary of state of Washington, told the Guardian that if the outbreak does suddenly take a turn on Tuesday and post offices have to close or huge numbers of election staff get sick, officials are ready to respond accordingly by working together.

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