Washington County employee tests positive for covid-19

FAYETTEVILLE -- A Washington County Road Department supervisor tested positive for covid-19 and four county offices are closed while 98 employees await test results.

Carl Gales, chief of staff for County Judge Joseph Wood, said the supervisor was in the department office as well as out in the field. The department shares an office building at 2615 S. Brink Drive with the Planning, Environmental, and Buildings and Grounds offices. Employees of those departments have been tested and the offices are closed until the test results come back.

Gales said the supervisor reported not feeling well and was tested Wednesday. The employee tested positive and the result was reported to the county Monday.

"We got the results yesterday around 1 p.m. and at 3 p.m. we started testing," Gales said. "You can't be too safe with this thing."

Gales said any of the 98 employees who test positive will be told to stay home for 14 days. Those who test negative will be allowed to return to work.

Gales said the test results should be available late this week or early next week. He said curtailing road work for a few days shouldn't cause too much disruption.

"We'll have to respond if there's an emergency," Gales said. "Otherwise, we've told the guys on the graders the minute you get that negative test back, get out there and get back on your grader."

Brian Lester, county attorney, said he wasn't aware of any other employees who have tested positive, aside from the Road Department employee and one in the Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Tim Helder said the one employee and 19 inmates tested positive with the coronavirus.

Helder said 16 of the 19 detainees were being held in quarantine for at least 14 days. They will be tested again and must show a negative result before being admitted to the general population. The other three detainees were tested during the intake process and never admitted once their tests came back with positive results.

As of Monday, 189 inmates in the Benton County Jail have tested positive for covid-19. Fourteen employees at the jail also tested positive.

Jay Frasier, Benton County's public services administrator and head of the Road Department, said none of his employees have tested positive.

Benton County Judge Barry Moehring said he didn't know of any other county employees who have tested positive for the virus. He said one employee reported some contact with others who had tested positive for the virus and the county closed the Juvenile Probation Office and the Juvenile Justice Center while employees were tested. All those tests came back with negative results, Moehring said.

Several employees in other offices have missed time at work while being tested for the virus, Moehring said, but none showed positive results.

"We've had some close calls," Moehring said.