Delta Junction city officials have temporarily closed the town’s library because one of the workers was in proximity to a person who later tested positive for COVID-19.
City officials closed the Delta Community Library to the public Thursday morning after one of the staff members said she had recently been near a person who later tested positive for COVID-19.
Mayor J.W. Musgrove says the worker had undergone a preliminary test, which came back negative. But he says the library will remain closed until a secondary test on the worker confirms the initial negative result. And, after the library undergoes a deep cleaning.
“So, pending all those things, there’s a chance that we’ll partially reopen on Monday,” Musgrove said Thursday afternoon.
Partially reopen, because the library has been operating for months now under state-recommended guidelines to limit the number of people inside and require patrons to wear masks and maintain social distancing. Musgrove said Thursday the city has taken other measures to protect library workers and the public.
“I have authorized testing for staff, at city expense,” he said.
The worker who reported the possible exposure to COVID-19 has been self-isolating at home, while awaiting the secondary test results. The mayor says while the testing and cleaning is under way at the library, staff will check out books and other media to patrons who call in beforehand and pick up the materials outside the library.
“Curbside service will be available for library patrons,” he said.
The library offered curbside service back in March, during the initial coronavirus lockdown.
So far, three people in the Delta area have tested positive for COVID-19. And at least five positive tests have been reported by mid-June among workers at the Pogo Mine, located about 38 miles northeast of town.
