Despite precautions, CBS headquarters reports 15 coronavirus cases amid nationwide surge
But eight months later, and regardless of strict testing protocols for people getting into firm buildings, father or mother firm ViacomCBS remains to be coping with a gradual beat of coronavirus cases. Just in November, 15 individuals who have been within the media conglomerate’s CBS Broadcast Center advanced have examined optimistic, in response to emails despatched to staff and reviewed by The Washington Post. There was additionally a further optimistic case at a constructing throughout the road.
The newest cases appear to have affected New York’s WCBS-TV, an affiliate community, and to not have straight affected CBS News staff, although the newest alert talked about that the “CBS This Morning” kitchen space was an affected house. (The CBS-run syndicated Drew Barrymore Show, together with third-party productions, additionally tape in studios on the Broadcast Center advanced.)
On Nov. 3, as staff hustled to cowl one of the vital difficult election nights in American historical past, a companywide e-mail got here in at 8:54 p.m. reporting that 4 staffers at two totally different buildings had examined optimistic. The most up-to-date replace got here on Wednesday morning stating that “four of our co-workers at the Broadcast Center at 524 W. 57th Street, New York have tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19).”
The emails famous that the corporate’s human sources group “has notified all those who were in direct contact with these employees.”
While the community wouldn’t affirm the variety of optimistic cases, a consultant mentioned the cases this month don’t represent an outbreak and that optimistic check ranges are under the New York City common.
Like all media corporations, ViacomCBS has saved in-person staffing as little as potential. But, the corporate has seemingly been hit tougher than nearly another main media conglomerate, regardless of a strict testing coverage, which began firstly of the pandemic’s unfold within the United States.
Early this spring, the CBS News streaming present “60 in 60” had one of many first so-called coronavirus clusters in New York City when 16 members of the workers examined optimistic. Separately, legendary CBS journalist Leslie Stahl was hospitalized with the coronavirus, although she recovered in time to grill President Trump and Vice President Pence in October.
Reporting whereas coping with the well being issues offered by the pandemic has grow to be the norm within the media trade because the spring, and the entire main tv information networks and newspapers, together with CBS News, took special precautions to cover the presidential election whereas protecting security high of thoughts.
Marc Burstein, who government produced election protection for ABC News, mentioned the community utilized “a lot of desks,” “a lot of cubicles,” and a number of units to make sure that there was applicable distance between a small group figuring out of the community’s workplace, with the remaining working from residence. “Covid has changed everything,” he told The Post forward of Election Day.
“We’re very covid-conscious,” CBS News president Susan Zirinsky mentioned on the time, noting that solely an “adequate” degree of in-person staffing can be used. The community built a studio in a Times Square constructing for election protection, away from the Broadcast Center headquarters.
But, whereas networks have closely restricted in-person workplace work and enforced strict insurance policies for individuals who are available in, together with obligatory screening, some corporations have been pressured to problem common reminders about finest practices and to additional minimize staffing ranges.
In a workers memo late final month, obtained by The Post, Fox News Media staff have been instructed that the corporate was “further reducing some of the workforce in our buildings and operating virtually wherever possible,” with solely these “critical” to the community’s election protection allowed to work within the firm’s Manhattan headquarters. Employees have been additionally instructed that the corporate had “recently” found “a few positive covid-19 cases at Fox News Media.”
“We have continued to operate with a reduced workforce since March and have set rigorous guidelines for those employees who need to operate in our buildings and in the field for essential TV production,” a Fox News Media spokesperson mentioned on Friday. (The firm announced this week that almost all staff will not be prone to return to the workplace till at the least April.)
Some 95 percent of NBC News and MSNBC employees are still working remotely, while about 85 percent of global CNN employees are doing so, representatives of both companies said. (Television networks must maintain a skeletal crew of control room employees to keep channels on the air.)
And, with coronavirus cases surging throughout the nation, there’s no motive to suppose that any tv information community can be making the transfer again to widespread workplace work anytime quickly.
