Pulaski County government employees now have some updated COVID-19 protocols to follow. The county council and commissioners adopted the new policies during an emergency joint session Monday.
“The health and safety of our employees seemed to be, potentially, compromised,” County Attorney Kevin Tankersley explained. “Late last week, we not only had a positive test of an employee, we had a positive test of a contractor who was in and out of a number of offices.”
He said one of the big changes is that every employee will have to wear a face covering at work, unless they’re alone in an office or vehicle. They’ll also have to be screened for COVID-19 symptoms every day. Those with a cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, close contact with someone with COVID-19, or a temperature over 100.3 degrees will not be allowed to work.
The new policy also outlines the conditions under which employees may return to work after they’ve been sick. Those who’ve tested positive must self-quarantine for at least 14 days, have a negative test, and be symptom-free for at least 72 hours. Employees sent home because a coworker tested positive must also quarantine but may return to work after eight days if they test negative and don’t develop symptoms. When it comes to who pays for employees’ COVID tests, county officials recommend that they simply use one of the free state-sponsored testing sites.
If someone tests positive after going to work, the new policy calls for their workplace to be disinfected. However, it wasn’t clear as of Monday whether the county maintenance department would be capable of doing that or if an outside contractor would have to be hired.
Additionally, the county council and commissioners agreed to post signs at the entrances to county buildings requiring visitors to wear masks. County officials believe they have enough to provide masks to employees, but weren’t sure there would be enough to give them to out to the public.
