Boeing factory employee tests positive for virus

US aviation giant Boeing has said that one of its factory workers had tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus -- the company's first known case.

The employee in question works at the company's Everett factory near Seattle in the northwestern state of Washington, one of the areas most affected by the virus's outbreak in the US.

The facility assembles Boeing's 777 and 787 airliner models in particular.

"The employee is now in quarantine receiving the care and treatment necessary for their recovery," Boeing said in a statement.

The statement also said the company has asked the employee's close coworkers to self-quarantine and has "conducted a thorough cleaning of the work areas and common spaces" at the facility.

The company reiterated a call for employees in the area to work from home if possible -- which would mainly mean administrative workers.

Boeing continues to face fallout from the year-long worldwide grounding of its 737 MAX model following two crashes that claimed 346 lives.