A Missouri election judge supervisor has died after testing positive for Covid-19 and then working at a polling site on Election Day, local health officials said Thursday.
While the cause of death has not been given, the St. Charles County Department of Public Health said in a news release, the person received a positive test result on October 30.
The person was told to quarantine for 14 days but did not follow that advice and worked at a polling site in St. Charles on Tuesday, the department said.
The news release did not say when the person died.
Public health officials said they have contacted workers at the polling site and are working with family members to determine the person’s whereabouts before the positive test result. There were nine other election workers at the polling place and they are being advised to get tested, the release says.
Because the person was a supervisor, the department said, the job duties did not involve interacting closely with the over 1,800 voters who were at the polling place Tuesday.
St. Charles County Director of Elections Kurt Bahr said all election workers were mandated to wear masks or face shields, and Plexiglas barriers separated the workers from the voters. Sanitation procedures were in place throughout the day.
Still, anyone who was at the precinct should monitor themselves closely for symptoms and contact the county’s Covid hotline with any questions, the department said in the news release.
The news release did not give any other details on the person who died.
“As this virus continues to spread, all aspects of the healthcare system are working together to remind the community that a positive COVID-19 test result requires that person to be responsible to others in the community,” St. Charles County Director of Public Health Demetrius Cianci-Chapman said in the news release. “There is no more important duty than protecting the health of our families, friends and those who reside in the community with us.”
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