Islamorada closes city building after four employees test positive for COVID-19
The Village of Islamorada in the Upper Florida Keys has closed its main administration building to visitors for two weeks after four staff members who work there tested positive for COVID-19.
A city spokeswoman said it’s not clear whether the employees were exposed to the virus in the building, but the public is being kept away as a precaution.
“It’s a good reason to keep the building empty for two weeks,” said public information officer Mary Swaney.
This means paperwork, including hard copy permit applications, cannot be dropped off in the lobby of the mile marker 87 building until its scheduled Jan. 19 reopening. Building and planning department applications can submitted and will be processed, reviewed and issued electronically for now, according to a statement from the village.
The four people who tested positive work on the second story of the three-story facility, located in the village’s bay side Founders Park. Anyone assigned to that floor will be working remotely for the next two weeks “or taking some time off,” Swaney said Tuesday. The building was shut down on Monday.
Not counting Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Islamorada Fire Rescue personnel working on the first floor, 35 village staff work in the building, Swaney said.
Three of the employees who tested positive did so last week, and the village’s human resources department confirmed the fourth positive test Sunday night, Swaney said.
Founders Park is a sprawling 45-acre waterfront facility with amenities that include a beach, track, basketball and pickleball courts, sports fields and a pool. There are no new restrictions at any of those sites, according to the village.
Coronavirus precautions are affecting meetings of the five-member Village Council, however. The elected body meets monthly in a separate building in the park. For its next scheduled meeting, at 5: 30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 11., only council members and staff deemed essential will be allowed in the building.
The public can participate in the meeting via Zoom and watch it live on Comcast Channel 77 or on the village’s website. Meetings are also archived on the website and can be viewed on demand.
Islamorada isn’t the only South Florida municipality forced to temporarily shutter its government buildings because of coronavirus infections. The city of West Miami closed its main building in early December because of an outbreak among staff.
And, Bay Harbor Islands closed its Town Hall in late October after an employee tested positive. However, the town’s council chambers was deemed safe enough by Miami-Dade County and local leaders for in-person voting during the Nov. 3 presidential election.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 2:31 PM.
