COVID In Colorado: Denver International Airport Explains 'Systematic' Testing Of Employees
DENVER (CBS4) -- With tens of thousands of people traveling through Denver International Airport each day for the Thanksgiving holiday, airport officials explained how COVID-19 testing for employees is being conducted.
Airport employees are getting tested for coronavirus in several phases. The first phase includes weekly COVID-19 testing for the airport's 1,200 city employees. Those employees include those people who have direct contact with the public like maintenance and customer service representatives.
The second phase includes testing for more of the 35,000 employees who work at DIA.
The goal for this phase is to provide "testing in a systematic way," airport spokesperson Emily Williams told CBS4's Britt Moreno. This next round of testing will roll out in December and will include other employees, such as concession workers.
TSA agents are not being tested at the airport.
"TSA continues to follow the guidance of the CDC, and any updates the CDC provides, to ensure that we are providing the best protection for our workforce and the traveling public," Lorie Dankers with the TSA stated. "If an employee tests positive for COVID-19, we conduct contact tracing and direct employees who may have been in recent contact with that employee to stay home and quarantine."
A public testing site will be a new fixture inside Denver International Airport in December. This will be a fee-based COVID-19 testing site for travelers who are flying to areas with COVID restrictions.
DIA expects 30,000 people to travel on Thanksgiving. Sunday is projected to be the busiest day of the week, with 40,000 traveling through security checkpoints.