South Palm Beach residents give each other space as they await COVID-19 tests from the county outside Town Hall last month. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By Dan Moffett
South Palm Beach is resuming some activities at Town Hall after concerns about coronavirus exposure prompted a partial shutdown of the building last month.
The town canceled its December council meeting when an employee tested positive for the virus after leaving work with symptoms.
Mayor Bonnie Fischer said the employee has recovered, tested negative and was expected to return to work soon. Fischer said no other confirmed COVID-19 cases have been identified in the town since.
She said the building was sanitized and the town’s staff is following public health protocols and limiting public access.
“I think we handled it well,” Fischer said. “Now we have to move on from here.”
The next regular Town Council meeting is scheduled for Jan. 12 beginning at 4 p.m. in Town Hall. Access to the meeting will be limited, however.
South Palm Beach has taken proactive steps to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.
On Dec. 11, more than 150 people came for COVID-19 testing administered by the Palm Beach County Health Department’s mobile unit outside Town Hall. It was the department’s fourth testing visit in 2020.
The council received a $17,500 grant from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and used it to buy 10,000 face masks for the town. They are expected to arrive by the middle of January and will be distributed three or four to each household.
Last spring officials handed out 3,000 masks.
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