New Haven Election Worker Tests Positive For Coronavirus

NEW HAVEN, CT — An employee in the Office of the City-Town Clerk tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday, according to a statement from the city. As a result, staff in the Clerk’s Office that were exposed are in quarantine in an effort to reduce the potential spread of the virus.

Tuesday night, the offices of the City-Town Clerk and City Hall were cleaned and disinfected.

Since the proper safety precautions have been made, there was no further risk identified at this time to those in the office.

New Haven Director of Public Health Maritza Bond said in a statement: “As a result of the positive case in the City-Town Clerk’s Office, we have quarantined twelve individuals who came into contact with the employee. They will quarantine for fourteen days and should any employee develop any symptoms, they should consult with their medical provider for testing. The employee who tested positive showed initial systems of COVID-19 last Thursday and has not returned to work since then. They received their COVID-19 test results yesterday, Election Day, indicating that they had tested positive. The City-Town Clerk’s facilities have been cleaned and disinfected to ensure that we can reduce the spread of COVID-19."

City-Town Clerk Michael Smart reached out to the Office of Secretary of State Denise Merrill Wednesday morning to request New Haven additional support to ensure that all election operations would be completed on time.