Florida County Storm Water employee Tests Positive for Coronavirus
A Pinellas County, Florida storm water employee tested positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus).
Officials have contacted other employees who worked closely with the infected employee, according to records.
The employee last worked on Mar. 26, reported the Tampa Bay Times. According to supervisors, the employee has been feeling better.
All other employees “report that they feel fine, but in an abundance of caution, they will stay home” through Apr. 9, according to an email written by public works director Kelli Hammer Levy. The group’s next scheduled workday is Apr. 13, reported the Tampa Bay Times.
The building where the employees worked was disinfected on Apr. 3 by a professional cleaning company. A county cleaning crew will also disinfect the vehicle used by the infected employee.
The county also took steps to limit the contact that another department has with the public.
An emergency order signed Friday by administrator Barry Burton will waive flat fee transactions at the landfill scale house until further notice and customers are now required to pay with credit cards. The order will likely eliminate about 1,000 customer interactions each week.
“This action is necessary to protect our scale house staff by eliminating all cash and check transactions,” said Paul Sacco, leader of the solid waste department.
The county expects to lose between $6,000 and $7,000 each week, reported the Tampa Bay Times. The county is aiming to get reimbursed from the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The county’s total of COVID-19 cases is up to 359, reported Tampa Bay Times.