The downtown County Administration Building (Manatee County photo)
BRADENTON, Fla. - A deadly outbreak of COVID-19 forced the Manatee County’s downtown administration building to close early Friday so the entire building could be disinfected.
According to the county, "a number" of coronavirus cases were detected among county employees this week and two people died.
The building along Manatee Avenue closed as of 2:30 p.m. Friday. The building will be disinfected and fogged and officials plan to reopen Monday at 8 a.m.
"When our offices reopen, COVID-19 safety protocols will resume, including mandatory face masks," the county noted.
Meanwhile, Manatee County Department of Health epidemiologists are onsite to begin contact tracing.
Manatee County became one of the first in the state to repeal their COVID-19 face-covering mandate back in September of last year.
According to Friday’s data from the state, the county had a 4% positivity rate for new tests over the last week. The statewide average was 3.3%.
The county did not provide any information about the COVID cases, including ages of the employees or whether they had been vaccinated.
The state's data shows 55% of the county's population has received at least one dose of the vaccine; the statewide total is 56%.