City Reports Nine New COVID-19 Cases

Bloomington, Ind. - Eight City workers have reported positive results of COVID-19 laboratory tests since the December 9 update, including one Bloomington Housing Authority (BHA) employee, three Bloomington Fire Department (BFD) employees, and four City of Bloomington Utilities (CBU) employees. This week’s report also includes a positive case from the Parks and Recreation department that was inadvertently omitted from last week’s case report. 

None of the cases were linked to any previous COVID-19 case at the City, and no members of the general public were identified as close contacts as a result of exposure to these employees in the course of 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. 

Details of each case are as follows: 

• One BFD employee started experiencing symptoms on Monday, December 6, receiving a positive COVID-19 test result on Thursday, December 9. Co-workers identified as close contacts were notified. 

• A second BFD employee started experiencing symptoms on Sunday, December 12, receiving a positive COVID-19 test result on Monday, December 13. Co-workers identified as close contacts were notified. 

• A third BFD employee started experiencing symptoms on Wednesday, December 15, receiving a positive COVID-19 test result on Thursday, December 16. Co-workers identified as close contacts were notified. 

• A BHA employee started experiencing symptoms on Friday, December 10, receiving a positive COVID-19 test result on Sunday, December 12. Co-workers identified as close contacts were notified. 

• A CBU employee started experiencing symptoms on Saturday December 4 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on Thursday, December 9. There were no close contacts. 

• A second CBU employee started experiencing symptoms on Tuesday, December 7, receiving a positive COVID-19 test result on Friday, December 10. There were no close contacts. 

• A third CBU employee started experiencing symptoms on Thursday, December 9, receiving positive COVID-19 test result on Monday, December 13. There were no close contacts. 

• A fourth CBU employee started experiencing symptoms on Tuesday, December 14, receiving a positive COVID-19 test result on Thursday, December 16. There were no close contacts. 

• A Parks and Recreation employee started experiencing symptoms on Tuesday, November 30, receiving a positive COVID-19 test result on Friday, December 3. There were no close contacts.

Including today’s report, 147 positive COVID-19 viral test results have been reported since the start of the pandemic by City workers, including those employed by the municipal corporations that operate the water utility (CBU), transit system (BT), and public housing (BHA). Additionally, COVID-19 was listed among the causes of death of one City worker.  

Data about COVID-19 cases among City employees, in the county, the state and the nation are presented at 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.