Friday, 2 November 2001 : "Anthrax wave subsiding?"

With no new local case of inhalation or skin anthrax in more than a week, and no report of a tainted letter in more than two, the District's health director, Ivan C.A. Walks, suggested that the Washington area was "on the downside" of a crisis that began with the opening of an envelope Oct. 15 on Capitol Hill.

Test results for some facilities are still unknown, however. And just yesterday, the federal Food and Drug Administration announced that anthrax spores had been found in four of its five Montgomery County mailrooms, forcing as many as 120 workers to begin taking antibiotics and prompting all five of the mailrooms to close.

...tests of three additional postal facilities and four D.C. government offices found no trace of anthrax spores. And so far, no contamination has been found at any residence or private business in the city. ... yesterday, [officials] said the only private-sector workers who should be treated are those who work at firms in Zip codes beginning with 200 and at firms that are likely targets of terrorists or use mechanized sorting equipment.