An image of the coronavirus from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The state Building Codes Division office in west Salem has closed after four employees tested positive for COVID-19.
The building, located at 1535 Edgewater St. N.W., was closed on Thursday, March 26, and won’t reopen until Monday, April 13, said Leah Andrews, spokesperson for the state Department of Consumer and Business Services, which oversees the division.
She said that on Tuesday last week an employee already in quarantine voluntarily and hadn’t been in the building in a while when they reported that they had tested positive for COVID-19.
She said that after the employee reported they had tested positive division executives notified employees and arranged for a deep-cleaning of the building. On Wednesday, another employee tested positive and the office was closed the next day, she said. By the time the office closed, she said that four employees tested positive for the virus.
Andrews said that the office is following federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that don’t call for closing an office or sending everyone home if an employee calls in to self-report that they’ve tested positive for COVID-19. The guidelines instead direct the agency to advise employees and watch for other signs of infection.
Andrews said that the office was already closed to the public in response to an executive order by Gov. Kate Brown that intended to minimize contact between state employees and the public.
Andrews said in a follow-up email, that 79 employees work in the West Salem office and around 30 people were working in the office before it was closed. Now all employees are working remotely.
Andrews said that the Building Codes Division has already staggered schedules and provided for employees to work remotely. In response to four employees testing positive, the division will limit the number of people in break rooms to three and will place tape on floors at 6-foot intervals to maintain social distancing.
The office provides vocational licensing services and trainings for the building trades, which she said were already on hold. It will undergo a deep disinfection following CDC guidelines, she said.
According to the most recent data Monday from the Oregon Health Authority, 606 people in Oregon were diagnosed with COVID-19, 14 in Marion County and two in Polk County.
Last week, the Oregon Department of Transportation closed its downtown Salem building after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
