City Reports Eleven New COVID-19 Employee Cases

Bloomington, Ind. – Eleven City workers have reported positive results of COVID-19 tests since the December 8 update, including three Bloomington Fire Department (BFD) employees, three Parks and Recreation (Parks) employees, two Bloomington Police Department (BPD) employees, and three City Hall employees (including Mayor Hamilton).

Details of the case are as follows: 

• One BFD employee started experiencing symptoms on December 10 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on December 11. There were no close contacts.

• A second BFD employee started experiencing symptoms on December 11 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on the same day. There were no close contacts.

• A third BFD employee started experiencing symptoms on December 11 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on the same day. There were no close contacts.

• One Parks employee started experiencing symptoms on December 4 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on December 5. There were no close contacts.

• A second Parks employee started experiencing symptoms on December 8 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on December 9. There were no close contacts.

• A third Parks employee started experiencing symptoms on December 11 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on December 12. There were no close contacts.

• One BPD employee started experiencing symptoms on December 11 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on the same day. There were no close contacts.

• A second BPD employee started experiencing symptoms on December 14 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on the same day. There were no close contacts.

• One City Hall employee started experiencing symptoms on December 8 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on December 11. Close contacts have or are being contacted.

• A second City Hall employee started experiencing symptoms on December 12 and received a positive COVID-19 test result on December 13. Close contacts have or are being contacted.

• A third City Hall employee, Mayor John Hamilton, tested positive for COVID-19 on December 13. With the recent surge in cases, he had prioritized masking and physical distancing, and as a result, he had no close contacts. Mayor Hamilton will continue to follow City protocols and is serving the City remotely while he recovers. 

To date, 497 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 December 5, the most recent date for which data is available, sample concentrations were 3555 gene copies/100mL at the Dillman plant and 886 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.

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