(1/14) The Carroll Valley Borough office has been closed, and a number of borough administrators and staff have been quarantined, as the result of a confirmed case of COVID-19 having been detected among staff.
Town Manager David Hazlett told the borough Council at their January 12 meeting, "I wanted to make sure everyone was aware that we did have a (COVID) case in the office - as it turned out to be positive."
He said that as a result, Mayor Ron Harris directed that the borough office be shut down, based on a memo received from borough Solicitor Zachary Rice’s law firm which advised that individuals who can work from home, are to work from home, as per state mandates.
As a result, Hazlett stated, "We did make the decision a couple of weeks ago to close the (borough) offices down – a week or so after the last meeting (December 15) - because of the COVID issues," after consulting with council President Richard Mathews, the mayor, and other department heads.
He stated that as of the January 12 meeting … that staff has been working from home for a couple of weeks. Hazlett advised that the isolation rules may cause some projects to be delayed, for example - the audit, because of the restrictions against interacting with others in person. However, he noted, staff has been conducting the affairs of the borough virtually.
The borough manager noted that a number of borough officials and staff are quarantined, but only identified four of them, including himself, the mayor, and borough Secretary Gayle Marthers.
Regarding the victim who had tested positive for COVID, Hazlett stated, "Because of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) rules, we won’t say who it was – that would be terribly inappropriate."
However, he did state, "I also didn’t want to miss the opportunity, if that person is watching, to let them know we are thinking of them, and we hope they and their family bounce back quickly… that we love them and if there’s anything that they need, we’re there for them."
Mayor Harris also reviewed the current statistics of COVID-19 occurrences for the area. Harris stated that in the Fairfield Borough area 17320 Area Code, which includes Carroll Valley Borough … 156 confirmed cases were reported as of December 15, and that the number as of January 12 is at 243, representing an increase of 87 cases since December.
"The reason I do this is not to alarm people, but it’s on the increase," he said, adding, "In the last two or three weeks I have been notified that I have been in close contact with a positive case… We need to pay attention. This is not political."
