COLUMBUS, Ind. – Bartholomew County Clerk Jay Phelps confirmed Monday morning that an election day poll worker at Westside Community Church last Tuesday has tested positive for coronavirus. The inspector who was in charge at the location that day has called all poll workers to inform them of the positive test. The poll worker who contracted COVID-19 is hospitalized but is expected to make a full recovery and be discharged later this week.
After learning about the positive test, Phelps contacted the nursing staff at the Bartholomew County Health Department and told them that the person afflicted had worn a mask the entire day and only had interaction for about 90 seconds, at maximum, with each voter. The poll worker also sanitized their hands often and was socially distanced from the voters. The other people who worked that day are all quarantining for two weeks.
The poll worker developed symptoms on Friday, November 6. The health department says you are most contagious two days before showing symptoms, which would have been after the election. It is thought that the poll worker was not contagious on Election Day based upon information gathered.
HIPPA Laws require officials to protect the privacy of the poll worker and not mention their name. However, Phelps believed it was his duty to be transparent and let the public know of the situation.