Leaders at Upstate Medical University have confirmed that 36 hospital workers have been put into a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

It comes after they went to a gathering with a co-worker who tested positive for COVID-19. The employee's positive test result came back on Tuesday morning.

Now, the Onondaga County Health Department is working with them to do testing and contact tracing. 

Upstate Medical University released a statement saying, "This high-risk behavior on the part of the Upstate staff goes against the professional code of conduct, will not be tolerated, and Upstate will pursue all available disciplinary measures against the individuals involved in the situation. This egregious lapse of judgement on behalf of Upstate staff is especially troubling. Upstate has reminded the public and our Upstate community to adhere to the guidelines and stay safe during this pandemic."

SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras also released a statement on the confirmed positives saying, "It’s deeply disappointing that while the overwhelming majority of our students, faculty, and staff are doing the right thing to protect each other from the spread of COVID on campus and in the community that 36 employees at Upstate Medical—medical residents pursuing a career to safeguard the health of others—are in mandatory quarantine due to their reckless and irresponsible actions to have a Halloween party off campus. One has tested positive and we all know too well it just takes one person to infect others when in close proximity and not wearing masks. Hopefully, this is a lesson learned that we must continue to take extraordinary precaution to keep this virus at bay. I support President Dr. Dewan taking all necessary disciplinary measures to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the number of positive tests. One person tested positive, not 36.