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Nevilledog

(51,094 posts)
Thu Nov 5, 2020, 05:24 PM Nov 2020

Missouri poll worker showed up for work on Election Day after testing positive for coronavirus



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NEW: Missouri poll worker showed up for work on Election Day after testing positive for coronavirus; the worker has since died https://sccmo.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1648
1:43 PM · Nov 5, 2020
9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Missouri poll worker showed up for work on Election Day after testing positive for coronavirus (Original Post) Nevilledog Nov 2020 OP
Yikes soothsayer Nov 2020 #1
they went from working to dead in 2 days??? heavy viral load! samnsara Nov 2020 #2
Yeah. And exhaustion. MissB Nov 2020 #3
What was he/she thinking? Tanuki Nov 2020 #4
It is possible that the person didn't know about the positive test. Blue_true Nov 2020 #6
Per the OP article: Tanuki Nov 2020 #7
I hope the person didn't essentially kill someone else. nt Blue_true Nov 2020 #9
Holy Shit! Remember this, from the same county? From Sept. 16: Tanuki Nov 2020 #5
When was election day? ffr Nov 2020 #8

Tanuki

(14,918 posts)
4. What was he/she thinking?
Thu Nov 5, 2020, 05:31 PM
Nov 2020

But it is a stark reminder that any time one is out in public, there could be someone present who is either unaware that they are covid-positive, or well aware but ignoring quarantine guidance for selfish/personal reasons. Be safe, y'all!

Blue_true

(31,261 posts)
6. It is possible that the person didn't know about the positive test.
Thu Nov 5, 2020, 05:44 PM
Nov 2020

When I worked in corporate America, I went to work sick often, not a smart choice, but I did. Now, if I feel sick, I would immediately stop all public functions and call my primary care Doctor’s office.

Tanuki

(14,918 posts)
7. Per the OP article:
Thu Nov 5, 2020, 05:46 PM
Nov 2020

..."received a positive test result for COVID-19 on Oct. 30 from a private lab and was advised by the lab to quarantine for 14 days. The election judge nevertheless failed to follow the advice and worked at the County’s Precinct 41 at the Blanchette Park Memorial Hall polling site in St. Charles on Election Day. "

Tanuki

(14,918 posts)
5. Holy Shit! Remember this, from the same county? From Sept. 16:
Thu Nov 5, 2020, 05:39 PM
Nov 2020
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/act-surprised-that-you-don-t-have-a-face-mask-on-st-charles-county-tells/article_39335fa9-369b-5053-a009-180f27da977b.html

"ST. CHARLES COUNTY — Election officials here on Wednesday suggested poll workers “act surprised” if voters ask why they aren’t wearing masks.

The email sent at about 11 a.m. from the St. Charles County Election Authority told poll workers they would not be required to wear a mask on Nov. 3, but would have to keep one handy and put it on if a voter asks.

But, in announcing the policy, the email suggested poll workers confronted by voters about their masks to “act surprised.”

“You may act surprised that you don’t have a face mask on properly and then apologize as you put the mask on,” an Election Authority recruiter wrote in the email. “Wear your mask correctly until the voter leaves the polling place. Please do this every time a voter says something to you.”

Critics of the email’s instructions were misinterpreting it, said Kurt Bahr, director of elections for the St. Charles County Election Authority, after the office received complaints about the directive.

The directive to “act surprised” was meant to give poll workers a way to quickly acknowledge that they weren’t wearing the mask, if confronted by voters, put it on and then continue with administering elections, Bahr said.

“We missed the mark in what we were intending to communicate,” Bahr said.

“The goal is to say to ‘put the mask on without arguing and then move on,’” he said. “We used the word ‘act surprised,’ but we could have said ‘act apologetic.’”

The policy requires poll workers to wear a mask on their ear or a lanyard — somewhere visible and accessible — and put it on fully if a voter asks, Bahr said. That’s a change he instituted from earlier in the year, when poll workers were only “highly encouraged” to wear masks, he said.

Workers will be required to wear a mask if a voter mentions it in any general sense, Bahr said. There is no specific phrase or question a voter has to ask for a poll worker to put a mask on.

“I trust that they will use their best judgment to recognize that if they’re asked to wear a mask, that they put one on,” he said."
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