RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A Riviera Beach city employee has died from COVID-19.
The employee is not being identified at this time, but City Manager Jonathan Evans confirmed six to eight other employees have self quarantined as a result of losing one of their own to coronavirus.
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“To the victim’s family and the individuals who work in the organization, it is a horrific day for the City of Riviera Beach. We are certainly doing everything we can to protect the safety and the welfare of our employees and the public,” Evans told Contact 5 investigator Merris Badcock. “This is serious and it happened right here at home for us all. It is a painful reminder that we have to listen, and we are going to have to make some tough decision to be able to get through this for better days here in our community.”
A hotline has been set up for employees to call in if they feel they are developing symptoms.
Officials are still investigating whether or not the victim contracted the virus during travel or direct contact with someone in the community.
“The individual had previous health-related issues that certainly, probably exacerbated the issues associated with COVID-19,” said Evans.
As a result of the employee death, Evans is pushing for all departments to go “full-remote” meaning no face-to-face or in-person interactions by April 6. Fire-Rescue, Police and Utilities departments would be exempt from the full-remote order.