SWEPCO’s recent announcement about an employee contracting the Coronavirus sent shock waves throughout the downtown area on Thursday.
Several SWEPCO employees and business neighbors spoke to KTBS-3 but wished to remain anonymous. They say their initial reaction was concern about both their health and loved ones.
Carey Sullivan, communications director, issued a SWEPCO statement on Thursday.
“Our employees’ safety and health is our top priority as we serve our customers during this outbreak,” Sullivan said.
They also stated that most downtown employees will be working from home until further notice. The statement says SWEPCO and parent company American Electric Power have been monitoring the spread of COVID-19 and are taking the following actions steps: such as cleaning work areas, restricting business travel and meetings, and limiting visitors to AEP facilities.
Jeff Bradford, who works at a building nearby, says he and co-workers were told to stay away from the SWEPCO building.
“And they were actually going to quarantine off the building or so many floors in the building. That they were just going to close down. And not have service through once they found out that it was someone that was actually in direct contact of it,” Bradford said.
Bradford says he knew it was a serious problem when the mail could not be delivered at his job due to the virus outbreak. He says he plans to work everyday; however, he is hoping the coronavirus will be contained soon.
