This morning, a tweet from reader Janna (@jannalibrarian on Twitter) made us sit up and take notice. She highlighted the following tweet from user Gabi, @gkhuesca, who is a children’s librarian:
I reached out to her but have not heard back, so instead I talked to a library staffer from Northeast Library, who told me that a fellow staffer indeed tested positive and the library was forced to close on Wednesday, July 15. The staffer told me that several teams, from southeast, southwest and northeast are on a strict rotation at the library, to help with contact tracing.
The staffer told me, “We closed at 12:30 on Wednesday for the rest of the day. Everybody sent home. Those who worked with this person are supposed to be quarantined for two weeks… I guess the person who tested positive worked last week and on Monday and/or Tuesday this week.”
The staffer added, “We were told that something would come out but it had to be approved by the mayor…. Nothing came out on the website or social media for hours after we closed. I felt bad for folks who trekked over only to find a locked door.”
The only announcement about the status of the Northeast Library came from the DC Public Library’s official twitter account, stating that they would be closed for a deep cleaning:
While the staffer assured me that the northeast library’s safety procedures are very stringent– no more than 15 people total in the library at any time, staff divided into teams that work only on certain days and strict bathroom and disinfection policies, we recommend that anyone who visited the library over the past week get a COVID-19 test. You can find a complete list of testing sites in the area by clicking here.