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USPS NewsBreak
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2001 - 4 p.m.
President Bush says two postal employees "died in the line of duty"
As a funeral was held today for one of two postal employees who died of inhaled anthrax, President George Bush mourned the workers' deaths and cited bioterrorism attacks through the mail as evidence of an "unprecedented war."
"We mourn the loss of Thomas Morris and Joseph Curseen," said Bush during a ceremony to sign anti-terrorism legislation. "They died in the line of duty."
The funeral for Morris was held today. Services for Curseen will be held tomorrow.
USPS continues to monitor the health of its employees as it works to identify suspected anthrax contamination in postal facilities and works to eradicate the threat. USPS has ordered the environmental testing of 30 major mail processing centers, primarily along the Eastern seaboard. The Postal Service has asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help in testing postal facilities throughout the nation.
In the Washington DC/Baltimore area, a total of 23 USPS workers are hospitalized for "suspicious symptoms" but anthrax has not been confirmed. Inhaled anthrax is confirmed in two additional hospitalized employees, both of whom work at the Brentwood mail processing facility in Washington, DC.
A total of four USPS workers in the New York/New Jersey area are hospitalized for "suspicious symptoms," but anthrax has not been confirmed. One employee at the Trenton, NJ, P&DC is hospitalized in stable but improving condition and is suspected of having contracted inhaled anthrax. Another employee from the Trenton facility is hospitalized and being treated for inhalation anthrax. In addition to these employees, two employees have been confirmed with skin anthrax - one from the Trenton processing facility and one from the West Trenton Post Office.
Thousands of USPS employees have been tested and/or receiving antibiotic treatment as a precaution. Following guidance from medical authorities, the Postal Service is urging all employees receiving a 10-day antibiotic treatment to continue this for a total of 60 days.
"I wish life came with a no-risk guarantee, but it never has. And if Sept. 11 made one thing clear, it's that," says PMG Jack Potter. "What I can guarantee is that 800,000 Postal Service employees are using everything they've learned, doing everything humanly possible, to keep the mail safe and keep it moving. And we're determined not to let terrorists stop us."
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