The City of Bellevue has become aware of a second employee that has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The second employee that tested positive works in the same department as the first and had direct contact with that employee. The City has already been in contact with the employees that have had potential exposure to the infected employees and immediately removed them from the workforce to start the quarantine process. The City of Bellevue has adopted a Pandemic Sick Leave Policy which is in place that will allow those quarantined employees to be paid during their absence.
Due to many employee health and privacy laws, there is only so much information that the City of Bellevue can release regarding these cases. The City of Bellevue takes the health and welfare of all of our employees very seriously and have taken all appropriate steps once we became aware of the original diagnosis and have worked with the Sarpy/Cass Health Department to establish a list of possible contacts for each employee. After speaking with the Sarpy/Cass Health Department, they reiterated that contacts that need to be concerned for increased exposure risk are individuals that have come in contact with a person that tested positive for COVID-19 after they start showing symptoms. In regards to the cases with the City employees, the first known date of a symptom is March 22nd and all of those known contacts have been contacted directly.
Bellevue Mayor Rusty Hike and many other City Departments have gotten many questions regarding hypothetical situations and interactions with people based on rumors that are spreading throughout the City. This rhetoric is dangerous as it is spreading misinformation and propagating unnecessary additional fear. We encourage you to obtain your information from reputable news sources such as the Sarpy/Cass Health Department, CDC, WHO and local news stations.
The City of Bellevue will continue to be transparent when it comes to the health and welfare of our citizens, employees and first responders. We realize that the virus is starting to spread throughout this area of the country and we strongly remind and encourage all citizens to take the proper precautions to help prevent a quick spread. This includes staying home and away from crowds as much as possible!