TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Officials at Tinker Air Force Base are taking measures to ensure clean work environments in the event an individual in a unit tests positive with coronavirus.
Tech. Sgt. Atheana Cooper, 72nd Medical Group executive officer and EMS coordinator, said the process starts with personnel letting command and their leadership chain know if they’re diagnosed with the virus. They will then relay that information to Col. Jennifer Trinkle, 72nd MDG commander, and Public Health.
“They’ll start tracking the member and look at everywhere they’ve been, who they’ve been in contact with and even get the plans for where they sat in their office,” Cooper said. “They’ll then decide if those people need to be quarantined based off of how close these people sit together.”
Simultaneously, Public Health notifies Civil Engineering who contacts a contracted cleaning company to deep clean the offices and areas that could possibly be contaminated. There is also a team of five active duty Airmen providing cleaning services.
Cooper said that it’s also important for personnel to continue to take steps to help prevent the spread of the virus as well. This includes taking off work when sick with any kind of illness, keeping their work spaces clean and sanitized, to follow Center for Disease Control and Oklahoma Safety and Health Administration guidelines and washing your hands.
“It’s the simple practices that we’re overlooking,” Cooper said. “Hopefully people are cleaning their offices and work places anyway and are maintaining six feet in distance.”
For medical questions about the virus, call Tinker’s COVID-19 Hotline at 582-6542. Non-medical COVID concerns can be directed to the Straight Talk Center at 734-2567.