City employee tests positive

A city employee has tested positive for COVID-19; however, that person’s name and position cannot be revealed due to privacy laws that do not allow employers to release personal health information.

According to Lisa LaPlante, communications manager, an employee alerted a supervisor the afternoon of July 16 about the positive test result and is now quarantining at home.

City policy is that if an employee or someone in their household tests positive, they must quarantine at home and receive a negative result before returning to work.

To help prevent further spread of the virus, the city has taken measures to keep staff members physically distanced. They are required to wear a face mask when they leave their workstations and when walking throughout the buildings.

LaPlante said cleaning protocols have been increased since March, striving to meet or exceed guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The city also is providing masks, hand sanitizer and wipes for staff members.

In addition, effective Monday, the city has suspended access to municipal buildings until further notice because of the increased number of COVID-19 cases.

Monday, the state health response team reported that of the 948 new cases reported since Sunday, 92.8 percent were in Clark County. It said the cumulative test positivity rate is 9.3 percent, with a daily positivity rate of 16 percent.

The number of cases in the state are growing at a rate of 3.7 percent, or 1,171 new cases per day, for the week that ended July 18. By comparison, the growth rate for the week ending May 31 was 1.4 percent, or 116 new cases per day.

LaPlante said it is preferred that business be conducted electronically.

City Council meetings will continue to have limited public access. The next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 11.

Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.