Flight Attendant Current
Communication Breakdown; Confusion
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness / Injury
General None Reported / Taken
Company Policy; Human Factors; Environment - Non Weather Related
After getting on the aircraft to fly; I did all my pre-flight duties including putting my personal luggage away and doing my safety checks. Just before we were ready to board; the flight crew including myself; was notified that someone had tested positive for COVID-19 from the inbound flight. We were later told that it was a passenger who tested positive for COVID-19. After waiting and many phone calls by the ground management as well as the pilots; it was decided ground personnel would clean the area where the customer had sat more thoroughly than just the tray table areas. The passenger was said to have been sitting in row X that tested positive. The cleaning personnel who wipe down the areas cleaned row X and the surrounding 6 rows behind it as a precaution. They then did it again because the cleaning solution being used says on the directions that it must sit for at least XX minutes on the surfaces being cleaned to properly be effective. Once the cleaning process was finished and completed; we boarded the flight and went on our way.The safety concern here is that there is no protocol for this exact situation and possible exposure. Our whole working crew and whatever ground personnel who entered the plane post flight are possibly exposed to this virus. I personally work in the affected area of the row. I sat in the row waiting for answers as to the protocols on what we were to do next. I touched all overhead bins around row X; the bathroom; bulkhead working station; and all surrounding areas that all could have been affected by this customer who tested positive. It's also not known if this customer had affected any other parts of the cabin and if this virus is on surfaces of the plane in more than just row X and the area of the aircraft that all the crew had to walk on to get on the aircraft.
Flight Attendant reported possible COVID-19 exposure from a passenger on the inbound flight. The crew used the same aircraft outbound after being notified of the positive test.