CHARLOTTE AMALIE — The Virgin Islands Department of Education says it has launched an internal investigation into rumors that an employee continued showing up for work despite testing positive for COVID-19.
The department “has been made aware of messages circulating via text and on some social media platforms alleging that one of its employees has tested positive for COVID19 and continues to perform his/her job duties among other employees and the public,” according to a news release issued Tuesday. “The Department takes these allegations seriously and has launched an internal investigation to confirm whether these claims are factual.”
Education sought to “reassure” the public yesterday by issuing a statement saying that it continues to follow all guidelines established by the V.I. Department of Health to contain the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus.
“To date, the department has been made aware of and publicly reported three confirmed cases of COVID-19 among its staff,” the prepared statement said. “One on St. Thomas in July 2020 and two cases in December 2020, one on St. Croix and one on St. Thomas. In each of these confirmed cases, the proper protocols were followed to ensure the health and safety of the infected employees and that of employees they may have come in contact with.”
Education said all its employees are “aware of the protocols to follow, should they develop symptoms related to COVID-19 or have been in contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19.”
The Department of Education will provide an update on the alleged case outline above when the investigation is complete,” the department said anonymously. “We remind the community to be responsible and report suspected cases of COVID-19 to local health authorities and refrain from spreading this information on social media or other avenues.”
