MAPLETON, Maine — The town office for Mapleton, Castle Hill and Chapman closed Monday after staff learned that an employee had contracted COVID-19, Town Manager Sandra Fournier said.
The person with the virus had recently interacted with other employees in the building, Fournier said. Being a small town office, she said the towns closed the shared building as a precautionary measure.
“We are hoping that this is just an isolated case,” Fournier said. “We followed all procedures necessary to keep our employees safe.”
She said residents would still be able to reach employees by email and the town’s phone line. Employees do not currently have the ability to access the office server remotely, though an IT employee was working to attain that capability on Monday.
Fournier said she is hoping the office can re-open on Monday, Dec. 21 after the building has been cleaned and all employees tested for COVID-19.
The town office services nearly 3,000 residents in the communities of Mapleton (2,086 people), Chapman (518) and Castle Hill (393).
The closing comes as Aroostook County continues to see a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases after being relatively unaffected by the virus for most of the pandemic.
As of Sunday, there were 155 active cases in The County, according to Maine CDC data, a rate of 23 active cases per 10,000 people.
There have recently been several outbreaks in the Presque Isle area, including dozens of cases at the Presque Isle Rehab and Nursing Center and 10 cases in the SAD 1 school system.
