A person who attended a national journalism conference in New Orleans with more than 1,000 other reporters last week has tested “presumptive positive” for the coronavirus, event organizers announced.
The conference, which kicked off Wednesday and ran through midday Sunday at the New Orleans Marriott, was the annual gathering for the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, part of the national nonprofit Investigative Reporters and Editors.
The unnamed attendee, who traveled to the conference from within the US, was there from Thursday through Saturday afternoon, IRE said in a statement.
The attendee, who has only mild symptoms and is expected to make a full recovery, is self-quarantining at home, the statement said.
The person is considered a “presumptive positive” case because a laboratory test came back positive, but the result has yet to be officially confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Based on the onset of symptoms, it’s unclear whether the person contracted the infection before, during or after the conference.
The attendee is reaching out to people they had close contact with during the conference — and event organizers are notifying individuals who attended a pre-registered hands-on class with the person.
The CDC recommends that all conference-goers reach out to their health care provider to let them know they attended a large gathering with someone who tested laboratory-positive for COVID-19.
Some reporters and editors who attended will be working from home for the time being.
Among them are some New York Times staffers, who will stay home for 14 days, National Editor Marc Lacey confirmed in a tweet. There is “no evidence that anyone from The Times who attended the conference is ill,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Times’ newsrooms in the Big Apple and Washington, DC, are getting “a deep cleaning,” he said.
In a memo sent from Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger and CEO Mark Thompson to all 4,300 employees on Monday, he encouraged all staffers to work from home in anticipation of a coronavirus crisis.
Condé Nast and Hearst are also giving their New York City employees the option of working from home in light of the coronavirus outbreak.
With Post wires
