MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — Middletown's city hall will be closed until at least next Monday due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
Middletown officials said closing the city hall was them taking action before the outbreak became a larger issue.
“Due to a small outbreak of COVID-19 cases among city employees, several staff members are currently quarantining,” Mayor Ben Florsheim said. “In the past 24 hours, as more information came to light suggesting a much larger outbreak would be possible without immediate action to restrict the spread of disease, we came to the decision that the best option for the safety of our staff and the public is to work fully remotely for the next few days."
According to the city's public health director, four employees in the building tested positive. All of the individuals were full vaccinated.
Kevin Elak said no one has been hospitalized at this time.
"That's why the mayor and I made the decision to send everybody home and work remotely or have a skeleton crew here," Elak added. "We didn't know if there were some lingering people who maybe were in close contact and we didn't want the spread to continue. We're doing everything we can. Cleaning and disinfecting."
"We're trying to transition from COVID mitigation to a full blown recovery. So perhaps this kind of complicates that a little bit."
Jeff Pugliese, Vice President, Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce said, "We believe we'll see some go down the road of mandating masks within a particular business/facility. And some maybe keep it more of an optional process moving forward."
Officials expect to reopen the building on Next Monday.
City hall is closed to the public. But essential services like the tax collectors office and vital statistics are still open. People should call ahead prior to arrival. Or they can access services online too.
If residents need assistance, they can leave a message with the department in question or with the Mayor’s Office at 860-638-4801. Contact information for all city departments is located on the City of Middletown website.
Several areas are implementing their own localized mask mandates when it comes to the public entering city and town halls.
The changes come as the Delta variant of COVID-19 persists in the state, bumping up the positivity rate and canceling events.
Ta Ta, Owner of Typhoon Restaurant said, "We're still concerned about all the pandemic, it's still there. it's not go away yet."
"We have vaccine. if we catch it we will be fine. but the person who doesn't have the vaccine. what will happen to them?"
Middletown, New London, Mansfield, Newington, and Norwich are requiring people to mask up in municipal buildings, regardless of vaccination status.
Newington's annual Night Out event with the police has also been canceled for tonight.
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