F5 Tower in downtown Seattle closes for cleaning after employee has contact with COVID-19 patient



SEATTLE -- The 48 floors of the F5 Tower in downtown Seattle will be empty Monday, March 2, save for a cleaning crew.

An F5 Networks spokesperson said one of the 1,500-plus employees at the downtown building has been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 (novel coronavirus).

The employee tested negative for coronavirus, but the building is closed Monday for cleaning just in case.

"Our concern is with the health and safety of our employees, customers, partners and communities worldwide; and we have and will continue to put in place public safety measures. This includes sanitizing our offices and closing the F5 Tower for business on March 2; encouraging local employees to work from home; postponing or converting large in-person events to virtual meetings; and prohibiting all international and domestic non-essential business travel.”

Nearly a dozen schools in western Washington also are closed Monday over coronavirus concerns, as Washington state has quickly become the epicenter of a U.S. outbreak. There were 13 confirmed cases statewide and two deaths as of Monday morning, but the number of cases is expected to rise daily.

Click here for full coronavirus coverage.