Ford quarantines workers after tech center employee tests positive for coronavirus

Ford has sent a number of workers home from its development center near Cologne, Germany, after an employee tested positive for coronavirus, the company confirmed.

The employee has been quarantined, Ford said in a statement. “All colleagues with whom the employee has had primary contact were identified and required to self-isolate and follow medical advice,” the statement added.

About 30 employees were sent home from the facility in Merkenich, where Ford employs about 4,000 people, the Koelnische Rundschau newspaper said in a report.

Ford said it was disinfecting the employee’s work environment.

“Business operations are not affected,” it added. ”The health and safety of our employees, dealers, customers and partners are always Ford’s highest priority."

Ford's location in Merkenich is the automaker’s center for passenger car development in Europe. On site are Ford’s European design center, two test tracks, three wind tunnels, a crash laboratory, an acoustic center and an exhaust emissions laboratory.