UPDATE: Woolwich reopening town office

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Tue, 12/15/2020 - 11:38

PHIL DI VECE News Contributor

The Woolwich Municipal Building temporarily closed Dec. 14 after a contractor working there tested positive for covid-19. File photo

Update: Woolwich announced its town office will reopen at 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 18. A certified company has sterilized the town office and the town apologizes for any inconvenience this week’s closure caused residents, the announcement stated.

Original post: The Woolwich municipal building closed at midday Monday after a contractor working there tested positive for COVID-19. Town business will be conducted remotely until further notice. David King Sr., select board chairman, told Wiscasset Newspaper over the telephone Tuesday, he, the town administrator, town clerk and other employees were all self-quarantining.

“This past Tuesday, Dec. 8, two technicians were working on the security system inside the town office. Yesterday their employer notified us one of these individuals has tested positive for COVID-19,” said King. He declined to name the contractor. “We immediately contacted the Maine Center for Disease Control in Augusta. They recommended we shut down the town office and all of our employees be tested for COVID-19,” he said.

King added, both he and Selectman Jason Shaw were meeting in the building the same day work was being done on the security system. “We were upstairs, far away from where the work was being done. I’ve had a COVID-19 test but haven’t gotten my result yet,” he continued.

King said the select board plans to have the town office professionally cleaned and sanitized before it is reopened.

“We announced the closure on our website and Facebook page informing people that they can still register their vehicle, snowmobile and conduct other town business remotely. Kim Dalton, the town administrator, who is working from home, is able to check town-related telephone messages and emails,” he said.

King hopes the town office can reopen the week of Dec. 21 but cannot say for certain. “We won’t do so until we get the OK from the CDC and have done everything we have to to make it safe for our employees and the public. We’ll follow their recommendations to the letter.”