(BLOOMINGTON) – Four Bloomington Fire Department (BFD) employees have received positive results of COVID-19 viral tests, and are currently isolating at their respective homes, on paid leave.
The employees were not identified as close contacts of one another according to CDC guidelines (having been 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.)
Today’s announcement brings to nine the total number of positive cases at the BFD since the start of the pandemic; the department’s previous COVID case was reported on Thursday, December 3.
Information about each BFD employee reporting positive results follows:
- The first employee began experiencing mild symptoms on Wednesday, December 2 and was tested the same day, receiving the positive result Saturday, December 5. The employee had last worked on Tuesday, December 1. Â
- The second employee began experiencing mild symptoms on December 2 and was tested December 3, receiving the positive result Sunday, December 6. The employee had last worked on Monday, November 30.Â
- The third employee began experiencing mild symptoms on Friday, December 4, and was tested and received the positive result the same day. The employee had last worked on Thursday, December 3.Â
- The fourth employee began experiencing mild symptoms on Sunday, December 6 during their work shift and was sent home to isolate. The employee was tested Monday, December 7 and received a positive result the same day.
An internal contact tracing process conducted by the BFD for each employee in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) guidelines determined that no coworkers had been placed at risk of exposure to COVID-19 through any of the employees. It was also ascertained that no member of the public had been placed at risk of exposure by the employees in the course of their work. Additional BFD protocols completed include decontamination of the station and apparatus that the affected employees came into contact with, and messaging to employees to reinforce protocols in place to limit spread.
This announcement marks 40 positive COVID-19 viral test results reported by City workers since the start of the pandemic, 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.
