BLOOMINGTON – A Parks and Recreation Department employee reported receiving a positive result of a COVID-19 viral test this week. This employee was not a close contact with a previous COVID-19 case at the City.
The employee, who works at the Cascades Golf Course, began experiencing symptoms on Sunday, April 11, and received a positive COVID-19 viral test result on Wednesday, April 14. The employee had last worked Friday, April 9. No close contacts were identified among the employee’s coworkers or the general public, with whom the employee does not regularly interact in their work. (Close contact is defined by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as someone who was within six feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from two days before illness onset or, for asymptomatic clients, two days prior to positive specimen collection until the time the patient is isolated.)
Cleaning protocols of shared workspace, equipment, and vehicles the employee used have been completed.
Today’s announcement marks 78 positive COVID-19 viral test results reported since the start of the pandemic by City workers, including those employed by the municipal corporations that operate the water utility (City of Bloomington Utilities) and transit system (BT), and public housing (Bloomington Housing Authority).
Sixteen total cases were reported during the eight months from March through October 2020. That monthly rate rose more than eight-fold in November, when 17 cases were reported within the single month, and rose another 29 percent in December (22 cases). January saw the monthly rate decline 40 percent to 13 positive cases; February’s four employee cases represented a 69 percent decline from January’s monthly rate, and the three cases reported by employees in March marked a subsequent 25 percent decline.
Thus far this month, three cases have been reported. Data about COVID-19 cases among City employees, in the county, the state, and the nation is presented on this online dashboard.
Other City-related updates about the COVID-19 pandemic are assembled here.
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 weekly updates about confirmed cases among staff while protecting employees’ privacy.
