The town of Hampden is closing its municipal office for the rest of the week after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19.
The town office will be closed at least until Monday, the town said. As precautionary measures, other staff members are getting tested for the virus and the office will be deep-cleaned. The situation will be re-evaluated on a daily basis, the town said.
In addition, a member of the coaching staff and a student-athlete at Hampden Academy have tested positive for COVID-19, RSU 22 Superintendent Regan Nickels confirmed Wednesday afternoon.
Both were last on campus Monday, but were not connected to the same team. Contact tracers found two people had been in close contact with the coaching staffer and were quarantining, Nickels said in a letter sent to RSU 22 students, staff and families. The student wasn’t found to have had any close contacts.
While the town office is closed, certain town services are and will continue to be available through the town’s website, and relevant updates on the situation will be posted there and on the town’s Facebook page.
The town office is the latest in a series of office or business closures in Maine caused by the coronavirus, which has surged since July as the more-transmissible delta strain has spread nationwide. Houlton closed its town office last week, and several Bangor-area restaurants have had to close temporarily because of the increased number of positive cases.