NYSE advises workers to self-quarantine as two more floor traders test positive for coronavirus

New York City, home to more than 8 million people, has become a hot spot in the coronavirus pandemic in the US

The unoccupied NYSE trading floor, closed temporarily for the first time in 228 years as a result of coronavirus concerns. NYSE via AP

At least two more New York Stock Exchange floor traders tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday despite measures taken to prevent people infected by the virus from entering the exchange while it remained physically open last week.

“Given the possibility of exposure, and consistent with local, state and federal government guidance, we recommend that all those who worked on the NYSE Trading Floor over the last 14 days should self-quarantine until a two week symptom-free period has elapsed,” Intercontinental

Exchange-owned NYSE said in a memo to traders.

New York City, home to more than eight million people, has become a hotspot in the coronavirus pandemic, with 157 deaths and about 15,000 cases of Covid-19 reported as of Tuesday.

The NYSE kept its trading floor open last week, screening everyone entering 11 Wall Street, but temporarily shut down the space after market close on Friday, two days after a floor trader and an ICE employee tested positive for the virus.

At the time, the NYSE said neither person who tested positive with the virus had entered the building thanks to strict screening efforts and that it felt comfortable remaining open until the shift to full electronic trading for the first time in the exchange’s 228-year history the following week.

But the traders who tested positive on Tuesday were working on the floor last week in close quarters with other traders, according to a source. "Those previously tested whose results remain outstanding will be notified directly by the medical team when results become available," the NYSE said.

NYSE has not publicly commented on the new cases.

While the NYSE trading floor is temporarily closed over the health concerns, US-listed stocks continue to trade electronically across all 13 active US stock exchanges.