Comcast Employee Dies Of Coronavirus

FAIRFIELD, NJ — The cable industry magazine Cablefax said on Monday that a Comcast employee in New Jersey has passed away after being diagnosed with coronavirus.

A note on the website under the heading "Sad News" says:

<blockquote>Comcast confirmed that a technician in Fairfield, NJ, diagnosed last week with COVID-19 has passed away. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time. He’s been a valued member of our Comcast family for 34 years, and he will be deeply missed," a spokesperson said."</blockquote>

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The website for Xfinity, Comcast's TV brand, lists the company's coronavirus precautions, saying, "Our supervisors are reinforcing public health guidelines with every employee including in-home technicians and retail store associates. Please know that if employees are feeling unwell, they are not to report to work."

Xfinity, headquartered in Philadelphia, serves towns throughout New Jersey.

On Monday, New Jersey reported 2,844 cases and 27 deaths due to the virus.

Officials are trying to get more testing facilities and more tests. A new testing facility that opened on Monday at the PNC Arts Center had to close by 10 a.m. because of the demand. (It was set to reopen Tuesday). The same situation occurred on Sunday in Bergen County.

Gov. Phil Murphy issued a stay-at-home order, closing all non-essential business at 9 p.m. Saturday, March 21. Read more: Gov. Murphy Announces NJ 'Stay-At-Home' Order Due To Coronavirus

Residents who have questions about the virus can call 211 or contact the State of New Jersey's hotline at 1 (800) 222-1222. The hotline is home of the https://www.njpies.org/ New Jersey Poison Information and Education System, and is staffed 24 hours a day by state health workers.

Experts say that the novel coronavirus, because it's new, is more lethal and much harder to treat than the flu. More than 15,000 people have died worldwide.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

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