BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com

Los Alamos National Lab Director Thom Mason told employees in an email Monday morning that sadly, the Lab has lost a co-worker to COVID-19.

Mason noted that just like in communities and across the state, COVID-19 cases are rapidly climbing at LANL with 59 new cases reported last week.

“This is a sharp increase and the most recorded any week during the pandemic. The total number of positive cases now stands at 191. We believe 5 of those are hospitalized. Currently, there are 873 employees in self-isolation due to travel, presumptive exposure, or close contact with individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19,” Mason said.

Mason expressed his genuine sadness at the death of the employee and extended deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the family.

“Significant increases in the community and at the Laboratory can have tragic consequences, so we must do our part to help slow the spread of the virus,” he said.

Lab employees and managers have been asked to work together to determine if teleworking is an option and everyone who can work from home has been asked to do so for the next several weeks.

“In times like these we should remember that Los Alamos National Laboratory is built on a strong community foundation and we are not strangers to adversity. Thank you for your dedication to keeping each other safe, your strength in this challenging time, and your pursuit of our mission on behalf of the nation,” Mason said.