Dell Worker Positive For Coronavirus Visited Round Rock HQ

ROUND ROCK, TX — A Dell Technologies software engineer returning to India from the company's Round Rock headquarters has tested positive for new coronavirus, according to a report.

A digital news platform called The News Minute reported that health officials confirmed the positive diagnosis for the respiratory ailment that is now known as COVID-19. The patient is said to be a software engineer in his 40s from the Indian state of Karnataka who returned to Bengaluru from the U.S. via Dubai on March 1.

COVID-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that’s a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past. No confirmed reports of the respiratory ailment have been confirmed in Travis County, according to Austin Public Health officials. Conversely, the case in India is the first for the state of Bengaluru, according to the report.

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Patch reached out to Dell to confirm the report, and a spokesperson said two Dell India employees were tested for the COVID-19 virus after they returned from the U.S. — including a visit to the Round Rock headquartes. One of the empoyees tested positive and the other tested negative, the spokesperson said.

"Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our employees and communities where we operate," Dell Technologies spokesperson Lauren Lee wrote in an emailed response to questions from Patch. "We can confirm two employees of Dell India were tested for the COVID-19 virus following their return home from the United States – including a visit to our headquarters in Round Rock. One employee tested negative; another tested positive and has since been placed in quarantine."

The spokesperson said the same safeguards for prevention of illness continue at Dell headquarters as outlined by federal officials while keeping local and county health officials apprised: "We continue to take steps to protect Dell Technologies team members and communities by following the health and safety guidelines from the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control — and coordinating with local health officials in Williamson and Travis counties," the spokesperson said.

Additionally, company health officials are seeking to identify those who may have into contact with the visitng Dell India workers to implment further safety measures if necessary: "For our Central Texas facilities, Dell’s Environment, Health and Safety team is working to identify if these team members were present in any of these buildings during their visit, and make sure they follow any remaining quarantine requirements," the spokesperson wrote. "We’re also notifying the hotel where these employees were staying so they can take the appropriate health and safety measures for their guests."

Moreover, Dell workers working remotely will be encouraged to continue doing so to further mitigate potential exposure to the virus: "Team members who are set up for work from home are encouraged to do so as part of our Connected Workplace policy," the Dell spokesperson wrote in an email. "This helps us reduce foot traffic and congregation in buildings for those whose jobs require them to be in a Dell facility. To help keep sites worldwide safe, we have increased the frequency of deep cleaning and sanitization of all our workspaces and conference rooms."

Named after its founder Michael Dell, the company is one of the world's largest technological firms, employing more than 145,000 people globally. According to the Austin Chamber, the company is the area's fourth-largest employer with more than 6,000 workers in Central Texas. During an apperance at SXSW 2018, Dell said the company employs 13,000 workers — up 1,000 from the previous year — as the Austin Business Journal reported.

The News Minute website reported the afflicted man had traveled to his workplace for two days before being admitted to the hospital with symptoms. He was later admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases in Benhaluru on March 8 where he was placed in isolation before being tested by the National Institute of Virology, according to the report.

Lab rsults came back positive on Monday, according to ther report. As a result, the man's wife and daughter also have been placed in isolation at a hospital ward. In addition, a colleage who had traveled with the patient also has been placed in quartantine, according to the report. In added precaustions, MSN reported the daughter's school has been closed indefiitely, and the family'es driver and other members of their family hae been quarantined for 28 days.

According to the MSN report, the man was tested twice before officials decided to quarantine him. "The sample was sent twice and was tested positive for the second time today (Monday) which led to the confirmation of this first positive case of coronavirus in Karnataka," Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said.