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12 Fort Lauderdale employees test positive for COVID-19. There are 29 more in quarantine.

Carli Teproff, Devoun Cetoute
·2 min read

A dozen Fort Lauderdale employees — including four in the city manager’s office — have recently tested positive for COVID-19, the city confirmed Tuesday.

Those employees, along with 29 others who were exposed, are in quarantine, a city spokesperson said.

In addition to the four in the city manager’s office, there are four in the police department, three in information technology services and one in parks and recreation.

Since March 16, 161 employees out of more than 3,000 have tested positive. The city said it does not have any information on current deaths or hospitalizations.

If an employee tests positive, the city performs contact tracing and enhanced cleaning protocols in affected work spaces.

Mayor Dean Trantalis and his chief of staff recently tested negative after being in contact with the city manager last week, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The city said Monday it has been following all Centers for Disease Control guidelines and recommendations and “is taking all necessary precautions, including conducting temperature checks prior to entering any city buildings, providing personal protective equipment to all employees, requiring six feet of social distancing, requiring face masks in common areas or when social distancing is compromised, encouraging regular handwashing and the use of hand sanitizer (stations are located throughout the City), and we are requiring individuals to quarantine when they test positive for COVID-19.”

“The City of Fort Lauderdale also issued approximately 3,000 temperature monitoring bracelets to all its employees as an extra level or protection, and we are one of the first cities in Florida to do so,” the city said in a statement. “...the safety of our City employees and the public we serve is our top priority.”

City leaders have also made accommodations to any employees who feel they may have been at risk to get tested for free at the Holiday Park testing facility, at 1150 G. Harold Martin Drive.