TEMPLE, Texas — COVID-19 is, unfortunately, easily spread and it was only a matter of time before a 6 News employee had a positive test. But while 6 News quickly responded by having our Temple location thoroughly cleaned, the main reason staff has stayed safe has more to do with preparation than reaction.
Preparing for COVID-19
6 News first started preparing for COVID-19 several months ago by moving all newsroom staff possible to a working-at-home capacity. Reporters work from the field. Any employees who needed gear from the station had to be cleared ahead of time, and when possible that gear was delivered to them.
Employees who stayed were given assigned workstations and were required to wear masks when not at those work stations. Employees could not move freely about the building and, in fact, were assigned specific entrances to use. Head of Technology and Operations Eric Vlam said the changes were made with a very specific goal in mind.
"They come in through a prescribed door for them and sit in a certain seat," Vlam said. "This way we know exactly the areas that people were at so when we come to this (positive test) we can make sure we clean up properly,"
Reacting to a positive COVID-19 test
When Anchor Leslie Draffin told 6 News she was getting a COVID-19 test as a precaution, Vlam immediately put on protective gear and cleaned the workstations Draffin had recently used. The procedure was part of a plan already in place.
"We've had a process in place for almost a month of what to do in these situations," Vlam said. "Not only from our own experience but from the experience of other stations part of TEGNA, our parent company."
When Draffin's test came back positive, Vlam contacted SERVPRO to come in the next night and clean the entire building with a disinfecting chemical used in a fogger. Vlam said SERVPRO had already been qualified as a company 6 News could use in this situation.
6 News is also having any employees who had been in contact with Draffin tested as well. Thanks to the existing policies in place, no more than three people needed to be tested.
"Contact tracing begins at this point, so we just try to make sure that everybody who had contact with them is tested," Vlam said. "As we get the tests back we will decide what the next steps will be."
While the 6 News team often finds these policies inconvenient, they have helped the team continue to operate and serve the public as cases continue to rise in Central Texas.
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