State welfare worker in Darby tests positive for virus
DARBY BOROUGH » The County Assistance Office at 845 Main St. will likely be closed today after employees there received an email Tuesday about a worker testing positive for coronavirus.
An email sent out Tuesday read, “(A) member of the Darby team has tested positive for COVID-19. We will be reaching out to all staff members that have been in close contact with the employee and those employees will need to selfquarantine for 14 days from the date of last contact.”
It continued, “We have reached out to headquarters regarding deep cleaning the office along with any additional measures that are deemed appropriate at this time.”
“We understand that this may be very frightening news and any employee who wishes to leave for the day can enter time and do so,” the email read. “Your supervisor or manager will be in contact with you regarding any changes that may take place.”
About 60 people work at the Darby office and have been working on staggered shifts since coronavirus guidelines have been put into place.
JoAnne Sessa of Service Employees International Union Local 668, who represents the union employees in the shop, called on administration to provide a health and safe environment for the employees.
“We as members want to do our job,” she said. “We serve Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable and most needy people and their families. We don’t want to not do our jobs. What we do want is healthy and safe work environments.”
She said many of the assistance offices are not cleaned to the standard required in these times.
“Now of all times, we demand immediate action for the health and safety of these workers and shops across the state,” Sessa said.
With welfare workers being deemed essential employees, she said, “They working in fear of their own health and safety not just for them but also for their families.
“We’re not just fighting for our members,” she said, “we’re also fighting for the communities that we serve.”
Sessa said she’s advising her members to make decisions to protect their health.
“It comes down to making healthy decisions,” she said. “You have to make healthy decisions for yourself and you should be making health decisions for your family.”
Sessa said if any of the workers have someone in their home that has been directed to self-quarantine or who is awaiting test results, “you should not be coming into the office.”
“Our members, we don’t want a free day off,” she said. “We do this work because we like it. We like to serve the public. We like to serve our communities but we can’t do it under the conditions that we’re working in.”