(BLOOMINGTON) – A Bloomington Fire Department (BFD) employee received a positive result of a COVID-19 viral test on Thursday, December 17.
The employee began experiencing mild symptoms on Sunday, December 13 during their shift and was sent home to isolate, where they are taking leave to recover. No close contacts among co-workers or the general public were identified.
Close contact is defined by the 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.
Today’s announcement brings to 12 the total number of positive COVID-19 cases that have been reported at the BFD since the start of the pandemic; the last positive result at the BFD was reported on Tuesday, December 15. Since March, 47 positive COVID-19 viral test results have been reported by City workers, including those employed by the municipal corporations that operate the water utility (CBU) 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.
