American Airlines pilot based in Dallas-Fort Worth tests positive for the coronavirus

A pilot for American Airlines in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area has tested positive for the coronavirus causing COVID-19.

The company said in a statement on Thursday that the airline’s chief medical officer and officials from its pilots office are in contact with the affected pilot, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

“We are in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health officials and are coordinating with them on all required health and safety measures,” the airline wrote.

A representative from the company would not say what date the pilot and airline learned the results of the pilot’s test for COVID-19, according to the report.

American Airlines said the company did not think the virus would pose a risk to those on board the plane, with a spokesperson telling The Hill, “The risk of transmission to passengers is low.”

American Airlines is based in Fort Worth and maintains around 30,000 employees in the area.

The state of Texas has recorded a total of 28 active cases of coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

The US has reported over 1,700 cases of the virus as of Friday, with 41 confirmed deaths since the start of the outbreak in the country.