Bloomington Fire Department: 11th Positive Covid Result

(BLOOMINGTON) – A Bloomington Fire Department (BFD) employee is reporting having received a positive result of COVID-19 viral test Saturday, December 12. 

The employee began experiencing mild symptoms on Wednesday, December 9, and was tested the same day.  The employee had last worked a shift on Monday, December 7, and is taking paid leave to recover. 

Tuesday’s announcement brings to 11 the total number of positive cases at the BFD, seven of which have been reported this month.  The employee whose results are being reported today was not identified as a close contact of any of those employees. 

In turn, no close contacts of this employee were identified among co-workers or the general public.  (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.)  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. 

This announcement marks 45 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.