NIH employee tests positive for coronavirus

WASHINGTON — The National Institutes of Health says a staff member has tested positive for the coronavirus, the federal health agency's first known report of an employee infected with COVID-19.

NIH says in a statement released on Sunday that it's reported the case to state and local public health officials. It says the individual is quarantined at home and doing well.

NIH, the nation's medical research agency, is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, and is located just outside Washington, D.C. in Bethesda, Maryland.

The employee works for the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, but is not involved in patient care. The person was not showing symptoms at work, which could mean a lower the risk of virus transmission.

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