Mount Pearl city hall employee tests positive for COVID-19

TheCity of Mount Pearl said Tuesday night one of its employees tested positive for COVID-19, amid an outbreak in the metro region that has seen 42 new cases reported since the week began.

The city said in a release that the employee works at Mount Pearl's city hall.

That person is in isolation and public health is tracing close contacts, including colleagues,the release said.

The city says the employee hasn't been in contact with members of the public for work purposes or with those who have visited city hall.

Mount Pearl city hall will be closed to the public on Wednesday for additional cleaning, the release said, with updates provided if others test positive.

The closure is the latest to affect the St. John's metro region, which is grappling with a snowballing outbreak after a cluster of students at Mount Pearl Senior High contracted the virus.

It follows a positive case that closed the RCMP headquarters in St. John's last week.

"The City of Mount Pearl is working to manage the risk for our community to the extent that we can," the release said."All employees are expected to follow the directives of the chief medical officer of health."

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