Roughly 45% of the employees who have tested positive have been a transmission risk to other agency employees, as they went to IRS facilities within two weeks prior to testing positive, the watchdog said in its report dated March 23. The report reviewed the agency's response to the pandemic and its efforts to protect workers.
While 144 employees total tested positive from March through May 2020, around 1,800 employees tested positive from December 2020 through February 2021, according to the report. It said that several employees have died of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, but did not provide a specific number.
The IRS doesn't have an air-sanitization program planned to improve building ventilation and curb the spread of the virus, but the agency has said that different air handling systems at IRS facilities help prevent the spread of respiratory droplets, according to the report. The IRS has also worked to circulate fresh air into agency facilities, the report said.
--Editing by Vincent Sherry.
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