The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported last week that between early June, when the state’s casinos reopened after a two-and-a-half-month shutdown, and August 9, some 40 casino employees tested positive for the Covid-19 virus.
Each of the 12 casinos is required to notify the gaming board when a worker tests positive for Covid-19. The regulatory agency initially had rejected inquiries about coronavirus among casino employees, citing “employee confidentiality” after a request from the Erie Times-News. The board relented after right-to-know requests were filed.
“In each case, the casino’s pandemic officer reports the matter to the PGCB and the Department of Health the day the employee contacts their employer, the respective casino, to notify their employer that they were tested and the test was presumptively positive,” gaming board spokesman Doug Harbach told the newspaper. “Steps are immediately taken to follow appropriate protocols per the (state) Department of Health and CDC including for sanitization and contact tracing conducted through Health officials.”
