Buffalo Grove

Suburban Chicago Building Tenants Concerned About Indoor COVID Testing

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

Many office buildings are running near empty these days due to the coronavirus pandemic. Still, Marc and Renee Redman say their employees have another reason to work remotely from home.

“They’re afraid to come into the office,” said Renee Redman.

The Redmans own an online stationary company and rent space out of a building on Weiland Road in Buffalo Grove. They said their employees are concerned about people walking into the building to receive COVID testing from a medical provider tenant.

“They obviously touch the door handles when they walk into the building. People are grouping together in the main lobby,” said Renee Redman.

Jeff Nianick owns a third-party trucking company that also rents space in the building. He said some of his employees have chosen to work from home.

“Because so many people are coming and going for COVID testing, the office is on pins and needles and very nervous, frankly,” Nianick said.

BG Medical Center confirmed it is offering testing for the virus, but told NBC 5 that people are not congregating in the lobby. 

Medical director Dr. Harry Keith Monroe said the provider is following CDC, State of Illinois and Lake County guidelines.

“The interactions that the patients are having with staff in building are the same as they would have at a grocery store or gas station. There’s no additional risk,” Monroe said. 

David Sosin, an attorney who represents the building, said the building has been working on trying to resolve the issue. According to Sosin, having the medical provider test patients outside is a solution that is being considered.

“No one wants anyone to be negatively affected,” Sosin said.

Marc Redman said there should be a clear state protocol that addresses how COVID tests are administered, where they should be administered and who should be administering tests.

NBC 5 reached out to the Illinois Department of Public Health and asked what guidelines need to be followed regarding COVID testing locations.  A spokesperson did not respond with an answer.

A spokesperson for the Lake County Health Department pushed back on the perception that people who seek testing are more likely to be infected than those walking around any office building in the county.

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