A Morinville councillor is isolating at home this week after coming in close contact with someone with COVID-19, and two town employees have tested positive in an unrelated development.
The Town of Morinville announced late Oct. 25 two town employees had tested positive for COVID-19.
These were the first two confirmed cases amongst town staff, and the town is telling the public about them to be transparent about the disease, said town chief administrative officer Stephane Labonne. The last time either of these people would have been at work was Oct. 23.
Labonne said the person who was last in the office on Oct. 23 should not have come into work as they were awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test administered the previous day. (Alberta Health Services says anyone awaiting a COVID-19 test result is required to isolate at home until those results are in.)
Labonne said the Town of Morinville has implemented a long list of pandemic safety measures over the last few months, including Plexiglas shields, physical distancing, ubiquitous hand sanitizer bottles and wearing facemasks whenever people are not at their desks. Town residents are also required to wear masks at the Morinville Leisure Centre as of Oct. 26 whenever not engaged in exercise.
“We’ve taken all the precautions we possibly can in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of both employees and the public,” he said.
Labonne said the two employees with COVID-19 are now in isolation at home and their workplaces have been disinfected. AHS officials are now identifying close contacts of the employees and directing them to self-isolate or be tested. (Labonne said he would be getting a COVID-19 test shortly.)
While town services would be largely unaffected by these diagnoses, Labonne said staff have moved the Oct. 27 town council meeting online and would likely have to delay the proposed 2021 budget open house and 2020 Mayor’s Business Breakfast.
In an unrelated incident, Coun. Scott Richardson is isolating at home this week after being in close contact with someone with COVID-19 via his daughter’s hockey team.
“I pretty much spent the last five days in my room by myself,” he said, speaking Oct. 26, adding he is still able to do his day job from home.
Richardson said his children and about 20 Morinville-area families involved with the hockey team are now in isolation. He has since tested negative for COVID-19 and has moved to his basement to complete his mandatory 14 days in isolation.
“It’s unfortunate there are so many families that can’t go to work,” he said, and he hopes no other cases would emerge from the hockey team.
Richardson urged residents to stay at least six feet apart from others and to wear facemasks when that isn’t possible.
“Masks do prevent the spread.”
Morinville had seven active COVID-19 cases or 61.8 per 100,000 people as of Oct. 26 and, like the rest of the Edmonton region, was under Enhanced status with additional pandemic control measures imposed by AHS.
