Covid concerns spread through Vandergrift

A Vandergrift borough employee who became ill and was directed by his doctor to get tested for covid-19 was awaiting test results Monday.

“We do not know anything, whether he’s tested positive or negative at this point,” Borough Secretary Stephen J. DelleDonne said early Monday afternoon.

DelleDonne did not identify the employee, but said he works for the borough’s Street & Sanitation Department.

On Saturday, DelleDonne issued a statement saying the municipal building and Street & Sanitation Department would be closed as a precaution until the employee’s test results were known.

Staffers were in the administration building on Monday, but members of the public weren’t allowed in, DelleDonne said. The administration building has been closed to the public since the borough instituted an emergency declaration because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Street & Sanitation Department was open Monday, but members of the public rarely go there, DelleDonne said.

In a separate statement Saturday, DelleDonne said Joseph A. Petrarca Pool would be temporarily closed because a pool employee was possibly exposed to covid-19.

“To be clear, this is not a confirmed case but rather a possible exposure,” DelleDonne said then. “The safety of our staff and patrons is always of our utmost concern.”

The borough will try to reopen the pool and resume all swimming lessons once testing results are known, DelleDonne said.

The two incidents aren’t related, DelleDonne said.

Also Monday, Westmoreland County Housing Authority Executive Director Michael Washowich confirmed that a visitor to McMurtry Towers in Vandergrift tested positive for coronavirus.

“We learned about it on Monday and sent a letter out to all residents,” Washowich said.

No residents at the 100-unit apartment complex have tested positive for the virus, officials said.

The authority has not restricted visitors from entering its 36 different properties, which have more than 2,500 units.

“We are not a nursing home. We operate independent living facilities and we can’t limit guests because it is people’s homes,” Washowich said.

Protocols call for the authority to notify residents when a positive case of coronavirus is confirmed. Additional cleaning of common areas is conducted at facilities where the cases occur, Washowich said.

McMurtry Towers is the third housing authority property since May where a coronavirus case was reported.

Washowich said a resident of Parnassus Manor in New Kensington tested positive for coronavirus in May, as did a resident at Park Manor in Monessen in June.