A Missouri poll worker who tested positive for COVID-19 worked on Election Day despite being told to quarantine. The worker later died and officials are scrambling to find who was in contact with them.
Associated Press/Brynn Anderson
- A Missouri poll employee in St. Charles County worked on Election day despite knowing that they tested positive for COVID-19.
- The employee later died, but the cause of death is not yet known.
- The county said the employee did not have close contact with the over 1,800 voters who cast their ballot at the Blanchette Park Memorial Hall polling site.
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A Missouri poll worker who knew they had COVID-19 went to work on Election Day and later died, according to the St. Charles County Department of Public Health and the St. Charles County Election Authority.
An election judge supervisor in St. Charles County, who has not been identified tested positive for the virus on October 30, and was told to isolate for two-weeks, a press release from the St. Charles officials said.
The worker did not isolate and worked the Blanchette Park Memorial Hall polling site on Tuesday. More than 1,85o voters cast their ballots at the site, but the county said the worker's job did not require them to come in close contact with people casting their vote. However, nine other poll workers were advised to get tested.
St. Charles County Director of Elections Kurt Bahr said all election workers had to wear masks or face shields at all times, and workers were separated from voters by Plexiglas barriers.
It's not exactly clear what the cause of the individual's death is. Public health officials said they are working with the employee's family to see where they were before they got the positive test results.
"As this virus continues to spread, all aspects of the healthcare system are working together to remind the community that a positive COVID-19 test result requires that person to be responsible to others in the community," says St. Charles County Director of Public Health Demetrius Cianci-Chapman. "There is no more important duty than protecting the health of our families, friends, and those who reside in the community with us.
The US recorded the single highest new daily cases on Thursday with 116,000 infections surpassing the 103,000 records from just the day before.
More than 9.6 million cases have been recorded in the US so far with over 234,000 deaths.
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