Employees At McClellan Park Call Center Raise Heath Concerns About Coronavirus
MCCLELLAN PARK (CBS13) - Coronavirus concerns have reached a new level for some employees at a call center on Dudley Boulevard in McClellan Park, whose clients include Covered California and Blue Cross.
"It is a lot of us in there. I'd say over 200, 300 people in the building," Nicole Sypert, a call center employee, said.
"Before today, we were pretty much sitting two feet apart. Many people were noticeably sick," Shanall Eaddy, call center employee, said.
Employees at the center sent photos and video of what it looked like inside the call center. They showed some employees sitting right next to each other and others separated by just one desk.
"It's a lot of people in there just coughing, sneezing, and not really washing their hands and [being] precautious about the virus right now," a call center employee who didn't want to be identified said.
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"You see people coughing and people walking around in there with masks, so yeah it's pretty scary," Lavelle Shah-Marquis, a call center employee, said.
Employees we spoke said the distancing was a main concern at the center.
"We only have two bathrooms. So it's unrealistic for us to have social distancing with only two bathrooms and a common break room," Eaddy said.
"We are literally right next together. You could touch the person's hand just by going like that," Shah-Marquis said.
Some folks also told CBS13 the center didn't have disinfecting wipes.
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"It makes me real nervous. I know they are doing precautions like sanitizing the place, you know making sure we're wiping everything down on a constant," Sypert said.
CBS13 spoke to the call center's site manager over the phone about the employees' concerns. He stated that the center is practicing social distancing and other recommendations to protect their employees.
The manager also said that employees are being put six feet away from each other inside the center and making other adjustments as needed.
"We just separated everyone at a six feet radius. So we separated one desk in between which is actually just happening right now," Eaddy said.
Additionally, the manager told CBS13 the center does have disinfectant wipes for employees and has hand sanitizer stations in the lobby. Despite the adjustments, some employees at the center still are concerned with the coronavirus.
"It makes me a little bit easy with that because they are providing something to kind of try not to get it," Sypert said.
The site manager told CBS13 that the center is working on and currently testing a plan for employees to work from home. He said there are no plans to temporarily close the center at this time.
