(BLOOMINGTON) – An employee of the City of Bloomington’s Public Works Department, two employees of the City of Bloomington Utilities (CBU), and a Bloomington Transit (BT) employee received positive results of COVID-19 viral tests in the last several days.
The Public Works employee, who is a member of the Street Division, started experiencing symptoms on Tuesday, November 24, was tested November 25 and 27, and received a positive test result Saturday, November 28. On leave since November 20, the employee continues to self-isolate, per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protocols. No close contacts were identified among the employee’s co-workers or members of the public, with whom the employee does not normally interact in the course of their work. The employee is the first member of the Street Division to receive a positive COVID-19 result.
One CBU employee, who works at the Blucher Poole Wastewater Treatment Plant, while asymptomatic, received a positive result on Friday, November 27 of a COVID-19 viral test administered Tuesday, November 24, and is currently isolating at home on paid leave. Co-workers identified as close contacts according to CDC guidelines have been notified. The employee does not interact with the public in the course of their work. Cleaning protocols have been completed at the employee’s work site.
Another CBU employee, who works in the city water utility’s Transmission and Distribution Division, received a positive test result today (Monday, November 30) of a test administered Tuesday, November 24. The employee began experiencing symptoms Sunday, November 22 and began to take paid leave on Monday, November 23. Co-workers identified as close contacts according to CDC guidelines have been notified; the other CBU employee whose positive result is being reported today was not identified among them. The employee does not interact with the public in the course of their work. Cleaning protocols have been completed at the employee’s work site.
Today’s cases bring to a total of eight the number of CBU employees who have received a positive COVID-19 result since the start of the pandemic. The previous CBU case was announced September 14.
Also, a BT driver received a positive test result of a COVID-19 viral test on Friday, November 27. Having first experienced symptoms on Monday, November 23, the employee has not worked since that day and is taking paid leave to recover. The employee drove on Routes 1, 2, 3, 6, 8 and 9 for the previous 14-day period (November 9-23), but did not have close contact with passengers outside of the CDC-recommended safety guidelines limiting interactions to 15 minutes and a distance of six feet. Currently, BT drivers are separated from passengers by a plexiglass shield, and passengers ride fare-free to limit contact and queuing. Effective November 23, passengers board through the rear doors of buses except in cases of passengers in wheelchairs or other mobility devices, and anyone who needs the use of the front door kneeling feature. All vehicles are cleaned twice daily using special disinfecting equipment.
Bloomington Transit (BT) is the public transportation corporation for the City of Bloomington. Today’s announcement marks the fifth reported COVID-19 diagnosis among BT staff, and the fourth driver. The last BT employee to have received a positive result, also a driver, was reported on Wednesday, November 25. The drivers were not found to be close contacts of one another.
Today’s announcement brings the total number of COVID-19 diagnoses among City workers since the start of the pandemic to 32, including those employed by the municipal corporations CBU and BT. An additional City employee reported a positive COVID-19 antibody test result.
The City of Bloomington is committed to sharing information about how its operations and workforce are affected by this public health emergency, and will continue to provide updates about confirmed cases among staff while protecting employees’ privacy.
