2nd El Paso Border Patrol agent has virus; 5 total infections among area CBP employees

EL PASO, Texas -- A second U.S. Border Patrol agent in the El Paso sector has now tested positive for the coronavirus, Chief patrol agent Gloria Chavez told ABC-7 on Wednesday.

That new case brought the total number of infections among Customs and Border Protection employees in the area to at least five. The Border Patrol is an arm of CBP.

The virus diagnosis of the first agent had been previously disclosed about a week go, Chavez said, and was included in a CBP count earlier this week of four El Paso employees with the virus. That agent was diagnosed after taking ill following travel to Mexico.

Chavez said the new case involved an agent who had just tested positive after feeling sick. That agent, she said, didn't have any recent contact with detainees either.

The head of the union representing El Paso's CBP workers has said agency is risking more infections because it hasn't taken enough steps to create more distance between employees and reduce the contact with the public.