Madison Businesses Encouraged To Publicly Share Coronavirus Cases

MADISON, CT — Saying businesses, residents, and visitors are all "stakeholders in the health and vitality of Madison," the town's emergency operations team is encouraging business owners to "notify the community of any positive cases within your workforce as soon as possible," after first alerting the health department.

"As we enter the holiday season our goal is to keep Madison open for business," a joint statement from First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons, Emergency Management Director Sam DeBurra, Madison Police Department Chief Jack Drumm, and Director of Health Trent Joseph reads. "In addition to adhering to the required state guidelines issued for your particular business sector, we expect all establishments to immediately contact the Madison Health Department if a member of your workforce tests positive for COVID-19."

The team wrote that, "This will help us start the contact tracing process as quickly as possible, provide personalized guidance about reducing any additional spread, and enable your business to get back to normal as quickly as possible."

And in addition, officials said business owners should consider communicating positive cases to the public.

"Depending on the specifics of each case, it might substantially benefit members of the public to be made aware if they were in your establishment at a time an employee was infected with COVID-19," the message to the business community reads. It's also recommended, but not mandated, that businesses, "Establish a voluntary contact list for any visitors to your establishment that may have had contact with your employees. Contact information such as the name, phone number and/or email of just one person per group/party can be life-saving in the event that someone tests positive for the virus. This will help close a gap in the timely notification of those individuals involved and assist in contact tracing in our community."

Here is a template to follow. Officials said the contact information may also be kept electronically, but regardless if it's ink-on-paper or electronic, the lists should be kept for "at least" 30 days.

Read the full message here.