City Reports Five New COVID-19 Cases

Bloomington, Ind. - Five City workers have reported positive results of COVID-19 laboratory tests since the December 16 update, including one City of Bloomington Utilities (CBU) employee, two Bloomington Fire Department (BFD) employees, one Bloomington Police Department (BPD) employee, and one employee of the Department of Public Works (DPW). 

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: 

• A CBU employee started experiencing symptoms on Thursday, December 9 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on Friday, December 17. There were no close contacts. 

• One BFD employee started experiencing symptoms on Saturday, December 18, receiving a positive COVID-19 test result the same day. There were no close contacts. 

• Another BFD employee started experiencing symptoms on Monday, December 20, and received a positive COVID-19 test result on Tuesday, December 21. There were no close contacts. 

• A BPD employee received a positive COVID-19 test result on Tuesday, December 21.  There were no close contacts. 

• A DPW employee started experiencing symptoms on Friday, December 17, and received a positive COVID-19 test result on Wednesday, December 22. Close contacts identified among the employee’s co-workers have been notified.  

Including today’s report, 152 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 (Bloomington Transit), and public housing (Bloomington Housing Authority). 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.