JEFFERSON, Iowa (AP) - The Iowa Department of Transportation has temporarily closed two maintenance garages after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus and had contact with two dozen colleagues, a spokeswoman said Friday.
The garages in Jefferson and Boone were closed Wednesday after all 24 employees who work at them were ordered to self-isolate for 14 days, DOT spokeswoman Andrea Henry said. Crews in both garages were working together on projects and had exposure to the infected employee, she said.
Their work will be picked up by other crews in the area during the closures, she said.
Henry said the agency sends employees home immediately once they test positive, and conducts contact tracing to identify anyone with whom they had contact. DOT then requires exposed employees to self-isolate for 14 days, and cleans and disinfects their workplaces.
Henry said employees are placed on paid leave during their mandatory isolation periods if their job duties do not allow them to work from home.
Henry said that the Altoona garage was closed in May after a positive case there required 11 employees to be isolated. She said those employees have since returned to work.
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