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Cuyahoga County poll worker tests positive for COVID-19 days after the election

“After speaking with local health officials about the situation, I am confident that the risk for voters who visited the Fairhill location was very low."

CLEVELAND — The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (CCBOE) reports that a Precinct Election Official has tested positive for the coronavirus days after the election. 

The official worked at the Fairhill Partners polling location in Cleveland on Election Day.

According to a press release, Cuyahoga Board of Elections Director Anthony Perlatti contacted the Cleveland Department of Public Health and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health for guidance after learning of the worker's COVID-19 test.

“After speaking with local health officials about the situation, I am confident that the risk for voters who visited the Fairhill location was very low. Both agencies have assured me that normal investigation and contact tracing protocols will be followed. Anyone who is deemed a close contact or who is identified as being at risk will be contacted by their local health department.”

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections says it had the proper guidelines in place on Election Day recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that minimized the risk of poll workers contracting the virus, "including regular cleaning and disinfecting, the use of facial coverings, proper social distancing, and frequent handwashing."

According to the CCBOE, "by practicing proper social distancing, workers were also kept from coming in close contact with voters as much as possible. CDC guidelines define close contact as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes, whether it was all at one time or over separate periods of time."

The individual who tested positive for COVID-19 will remain private and will not be disclosed by the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections or local health officials. 

Editor's Note: The below story aired on November 5, 2020

 

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