O’FALLON, Missouri (AP) – A Missouri election ruled who came here to paint despite giving positive for coronavirus died in his sleep after a 15-hour shift at the polls, the director of his county’s electoral workplace said. Friday.
The woman worked election day as an election judge manager at Memorial Hall in Blanchette Park, a suburb of St. Louis. Louis in St. Charles, officials still don’t know if COVID-19 was the cause of death. County officials did not disclose his name, mentioning privacy laws.
She tested positive on October 30, but ignored the isolation recommendation and worked alongside nine other election judges. More than 1,800 other people voted on the premises. The judges had to wear a mask and were usually a plastic glass barrier.
The director of the St. Louis County Election Authority. Charles, Kurt Bahr, said in a telephone interview that the woman had worked in the past in several other elections, as did her sister at some other polling station. It was the sister who called Bahr’s workplace on Wednesday to inform her of the woman’s death.
But Bahr said the sister was unaware of the diagnosis of COVID-19.
“She is equally surprised, ” said Bahr. ” The circle of relatives didn’t know they’d tested positive. As far as I know, the only user who knew the judge’s wife. “
Bahr stated that, as an election judge, the woman would have showed up around 5 a. m. to help prepare the polling place; worked as long as polling stations were open at 6 a. m. at 7 p. m. then spent about an hour ending.
He died in late sleep on Tuesday or early Wednesday morning, Bahr said.
Another opinion on who worked on the Blanchette Park site called Bahr’s workplace to “try to find out who it was” who had the disease, he said. This opinion about more or less said no one seemed to be sick. No one evolved, symptoms.
County fitness officers are urging judges in the complex to test the virus, said a Spokeswoman for St. County. Charles, Mary Enger. Touch search efforts have begun.
Bahr said the county did not provide evidence for those who voted at the venue because its prospective exposure was limited. He said the maximum electorate had only remained inside for 10 to 15 minutes and that, at most, they were the only ones completing their ballots.
Bahr said the county had a lot of judges waiting Tuesday, so he didn’t know why the woman felt compelled to work. The job will pay $175 a day, but he suspected that civic responsibility, not money, was his motivation.
However, she wanted her to have made another decision.
“Obviously, it’s daunting to find out that one, he managed, and two, who knew he was in poor health and that he chose to paint anyway,” Bahr said.
Some of those who voted expressed combined emotions of anger and empathy. Catherine Eberle, 31, took her 4-year-old daughter and 5-month-old son to the polling station.
“I just tried to put myself in that user’s place to find out what would make a user do that,” Eberle said.
Another voter, Annie Zimpfer, 57, said there was a brief delay in registration, in all likelihood because she used her name and middle name. A manager was briefly called to the workplace, but was separated by a plastic window.
“I hope no one else catches him for his actions, ” said Zimpfer. “My anger has diminished a little, but I guess I just wish other people would realize that we’re all in the same boat. Someone else’s?”
Eberle, a home fitness nurse, asked why election officials had been screened for fever, a symptom of the virus. Missouri does require staff to be tested or temperature controlled, said Nicholas Omland, spokesman for the Missouri Secretary of State’s office.
But the local government can put into effect precautions, which St. John’s County. Charles will do for the next election in April, depending on the state of the virus, Bahr said. Missouri is currently experiencing a new record number of cases and hospitalizations almost daily.
“If the numbers are similar to today’s, we will want an even more physically powerful policy,” Bahr said. “In fact, I am in a position to take our precautions if COVID is not a remote reminiscence until April. “