City Reports Ten New COVID-19 Employee Cases

Bloomington, Ind. – Ten City workers have reported positive results of COVID-19 tests since the July 14 update, including four Utilities (CBU) employees, three Parks and Recreation (Parks) employees, two Public Works (DPW) employees, and one Bloomington Police Department (BPD) employee.

Details of the cases are as follows: 

• One CBU employee started experiencing symptoms on July 16 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on July 17. Close contacts have been notified.

• A second CBU employee started experiencing symptoms on July 17 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on the same day. There were no close contacts. 

• A third CBU employee started experiencing symptoms on July 17 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on July 18. There were no close contacts. 

• A fourth CBU employee started experiencing symptoms on July 20 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on the same day. There were no close contacts. 

• One Parks employee started experiencing symptoms on July 15 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on July 16. Close contacts have been notified.

• A second Parks employee started experiencing symptoms on July 18 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on July 19. There were no close contacts. 

• A third Parks employee started experiencing symptoms on July 20 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on the same day. There were no close contacts. 

• One DPW employee started experiencing symptoms on July 18 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on the same day. Close contacts have been notified.

• A second DPW employee started experiencing symptoms on July 19 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on the same day. There were no close contacts.

• One BFD employee started experiencing symptoms on July 12 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on the same day. There were no close contacts.

To date, 372 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 available at https://bton.in/SOHjE. Other City-related updates about the COVID-19 pandemic are available at bloomington.in.gov/covid19.  

City of Bloomington Utilities continues its weekly COVID-19 wastewater sampling program. While it is presently in the early stages of development, wastewater sampling has been proposed as a future “early warning” methodology. As of July 11, the most recent date for which data is available, sample concentrations were 1400 gene copies/100mL at the Dillman plant and 270 gene copies/100mL at the Blucher Poole plant. Sampling data is available at https://bton.in/rcAnW. 

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.