Bloomington, Indiana – A Bloomington Fire Department (BFD) employee and an employee of the Department of Public Works’ (DPW) Street Division have received positive results of COVID-19 viral tests.
Today’s announcement brings to 10 the total number of positive cases at the BFD; four previous COVID cases at the BFD were reported on Tuesday, December 8, although the employee whose results are being reported today was not identified as a close contact of any of those employees.
The DPW employee is the second within that division to have had a positive test result, and was not identified as a close contact of the previous case, which was announced Monday, November 30.
Information about each employee whose positive results are being reported today follows:
- The BFD employee began experiencing mild symptoms on Sunday, December 6 and received positive results Monday, December 7 of a COVID viral test administered earlier that day. The employee had last worked a shift on Saturday, December 5 and is taking paid leave to recover. No close contacts among co-workers or the general public were identified. (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 2 days before illness onset–or, for asymptomatic clients, 2 days prior to positive specimen collection–until the time the patient is isolated.) Additional BFD protocols completed include decontamination of the station and apparatus that the affected employee came into contact with, and messaging to employees to reinforce protocols in place to limit spread.
- The DPW/Street Division employee began experiencing mild symptoms on Sunday, December 6 and began isolating at home on paid leave starting Monday, December 7. The employee was tested Tuesday, December 8 and received positive results Thursday, December 10. No close contacts among co-workers or the general public were identified, per CDC guidelines. Cleaning protocols of equipment, facilities, and vehicles the employee used have been completed.
This announcement marks 42 positive COVID-19 viral test results reported by City workers, including those employed by the municipal corporations that operate the water utility (City of Bloomington Utilities) and transit system (Bloomington Transit). 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.
