(EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is a statement from the City of Covington).

COVINGTON, Ky. – Three employees at Covington City Hall have recently tested positive with COVID-19 and precautions are being taken to protect both co-workers and the public.

Among those are Mayor Joe Meyer and City Manager Ken Smith. Both were fully vaccinated, and – presumably because of that fact – are suffering only mild symptoms. Nevertheless, both are quarantining at home and working more or less a full schedule.

Out of precaution, the Board of Commissioners meeting scheduled for tonight has been canceled and existing pandemic-related precautions at City Hall have once again been strengthened to reflect health experts’ guidelines.

The City is:

• Again requiring masks in City Hall (both for visitors and for employees when outside of their personal work places).
• Advising employees on an individual level to quarantine if there’s reason to think they’d been exposed.
• Strongly recommending that employees get vaccinated and get tested as often as necessary.
• Mandating that employees stay home when they’re sick and quarantine when necessary.
• Recommending that employees social distance, sanitize their workspaces and wash their hands often, monitor their temperatures, and conduct meetings by phone or by video when possible. The City is making supplies available for these purposes.
• Sanitizing common areas at City Hall.
• Arranging – where feasible – to let employees work from home.

The bottom line is this: As with other employers in both the public and private sectors, the City of Covington is feeling the effect of the pandemic, and its response is ongoing and evolving. While taking steps to keep employees safe and healthy, leaders are also mindful that the City exists to serve the public and thus can’t simply close up shop. The work continues.

“I and other City leaders want to thank our employees – in particular our police officers, firefighters, public works crews, code inspectors, and housing choice voucher staff – who are out and about continuing to serve the public with high-level service in this troubling time,” Mayor Meyer said.

###