Elon Musk’s SpaceX Registers 132 COVID Workplace Cases

Aerospace company SpaceX’s rocket factory near Los Angeles is now California’s largest COVID workplace outbreak. Local health officials count the number of affected employees as at least 132.

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LA County’s Largest COVID Workplace Outbreak Occurred At SpaceX

SpaceX is the aerospace company with the world’s richest man as CEO. Now, the company will also hold the dubious record of hosting the biggest COVID workplace in California. At least 132 employees tested positive for COVID-19.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a report Monday. It said that Musk’s other company (the first one being the wildly successful EV maker Tesla) accounts for around 30% of total workplace COVID-19 cases in the state.

It topped 37 other California companies that reported three or more cases within their offices. Currently, the total COVID workplace cases are 542. 

SpaceX Employs 6,000 People

SpaceX’s corporate headquarters lies at Hawthorne, California. This facility employs 6,000 workers, 142 of whom contacted COVID-19 during the lat training.

California itself has become home to rising numbers of COVID-cases. The Omicron variant is slowly falling out across America. 

Unfortunately, early studies of Omicron show that this variant transmits and spreads much easier. This helps explain why another surge is happening across the country.

As a result, California began returning to measures such as forcing mask-wearing. However, White House  Chief Medical Adviser Dr.  Anthohy Fauci said that studies show Omicron results in milder symptoms. 

Second Outbreak At SpaceX

The Hawthorne facility is SpaceX’s manufacturing hub. This is where the company performs the main design, manufacturing, and engineering of its Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon capsules.

In March 2020, a SpaceX engineer who traveled abroad prior to the state lockdown tested positive for the virus. At least a dozen co-workers who came into contact with the engineer had to quarantine at home for two weeks. 

In addition, Musk’s other company, Tesla, also reported outbreaks of COVID-19. In March 2020, Tesla’s Fremont factory reported that 450 out of 10,000 Tesla workers tested positive for COVID-19 for over seven months. 125 of these cases surfaced in December of the same year. 

Musk Opposes COVID Mandates

Elon Musk gained notoriety for refusing to shut down his companies and implementing mask mandates and other safety measures.

In fact, he defied suggestions to lockdown the Tesla factories. Musk also accused health officials of ordering “fascist” and undemocratic orders to shut down his plants.

Consequently, he doubled down on Tesla’s defiance. Ultimately, Musk told county officials that if Tesla is in violation, officials should only arrest him. 

Watch the CBS Los Angeles news video reporting that SpaceX sees over 130 positive COVID cases amid outbreak at Hawthorne location:

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What do you think of SpaceX’s outbreak? Is this a result of company negligence or individual carelessness?

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