BELLE GLADE, Fla. – CareerSource Palm Beach County had to temporarily close one of its centers this week after three employees tested positive for COVID-19.
Tom Veenstra, vice president of administration for the company, said the West Career Center at 1085 South Main Street in Belle Glade will reopen on Monday.
The three employees who tested positive are in quarantine, and the center was cleaned and disinfected on Thursday.
One of the infected employees “works in a relatively isolated area at the back of the office with no face-to-face interaction with customers, which has helped contain possible exposure to an extremely small internal group,” Veenstra said.
“We check all employees and visitors daily and encourage the use of masks,” Veenstra said in a written statement to WPTV. “Our priority – first and foremost – is the health and wellbeing of our teammates as well as our customers. Employees in quarantine must be medically released before they return to work. “
While the West Career Center is closed, CareerSource provides services at the Belle Glade Library at 725 Northwest 4th Street. Virtual services will continue to be available online by clicking here or by calling 561-340-1060.
RELATED: Palm Beach County Health Director Is “Concerned” About COVID-19 Delta Variant and Urges Vaccinations
Palm Beach County Health Director Dr. Alina Alonso said Tuesday that the western communities of Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay are three areas where officials are focusing their efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccinations.
According to Alonso, these communities have “lower numbers” of vaccinations between December 2020 and June 2021.
In Belle Glade, 7,377 people ages 16 and older – or 44.6% of the city’s population for that age group – received the vaccine during those six months.
2,275 people (37.5%) were vaccinated in Pahokee and 1,967 people (35.8%) were vaccinated in South Bay.
“These are our places that we are focusing on in order to vaccinate as much as possible in these areas,” said Alonso.
Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County
COVID-19 vaccination dates between December 2020 and June 2021 from the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County.
However, Alonso admitted that Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay had an average of eight to 13 new COVID-19 cases between July 2 and July 8, which she believed was on the “low end”.
“Efforts need to focus on vaccinations. No question about it,” said Alonso. “We have to vaccinate the word, vaccinate, vaccinate.”
SEE HEALTH DIRECTOR’S COMMENTS:
Dr. Alina Alonso talks about low COVID-19 vaccination rates in Belle Glade
Ongoing efforts to reach residents of western Palm Beach County include Palm Beach County’s Florida Department of Health and Health Care District using mobile units to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine at pop-up locations.
In addition, residents can get vaccinated at CL Brumback Health Center at 80 38754 State Road in Belle Glade.
The health district is also working with the Palm Beach County School District to provide immunization for anyone ages 12 and older at the West Technical Education Center at 2625 Northwest 16th Street in Belle Glade.
“We want to make sure anyone who wants a vaccine in Palm Beach County can get one,” Alonso said. “We want to vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate. This is the only way we can keep this COVID under control and protect people so that it does not come to the big increase that we had last time.”
A full list of Palm Beach County’s Health District Mobile Vaccination Centers is available here.
To view all COVID-19 vaccination sites in Palm Beach County, click here.
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