Clovis orders most city employees to return to offices amid coronavirus pandemic
Clovis city officials are ordering back to work employees who have had work-from-home assignments during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to an email sent by City Manager Luke Serpa and confirmed by city officials, city department heads have been instructed to tell employees to return to city offices effective Aug. 1.
Several offices and lobbies have been open since June, as have been parks and trails.
Some workers have continued working at their offices since the pandemic. Serpa’s order will fill city offices back up. The Clovis Senior Center and the city’s recreation center remain closed to the public.
The city employs 564 full-time workers, including police and firefighters.
“Having some employees working from home while the vast majority of their peers are here every day raises significant equity and consistency issues,” Serpa’s email stated.
California coronavirus guidelines for reopening
The move comes as more and more people return to work under the state’s reopening phases. California is currently on Phase 2, which allows for “low risk” spaces to bring back workers. That allows for the gradual reopening of retail, manufacturing, and offices where telework is not possible.
The Clovis order includes exceptions for employees who need medical accommodations or where it is not possible to “reconfigure workspaces for social distancing,” according to the memo from the city manager.
Coronavirus infections across the Central Valley have spiked in recent weeks. The governor declared the region a new hot spot and has ordered medical and economic support to be issued in the coming weeks.
Clovis had 514 coronavirus infections under investigation as of Friday, according to data from the Fresno County Department of Public Health. In Fresno County, the total number of active infections reached 9,336, and 120 people have died.
Clovis spokesman Chad McCollum told The Bee the city has instituted mask orders for buildings and installed plexiglass at front lobbies where workers interact with the public and distance markers. The city has been working with the county health department over protocols to follow when workers get sick.
Dealing with COVID-19 infections at work
Protocols that Clovis follows include filling out contact tracing sheets when a worker becomes sick to follow up with others who may have been exposed. The process is meant to protect the privacy of workers who may be ill or exposed.
A document drafted by the city and approved by the county also defines close contact among workers as “spending 15 minutes or more, unmasked, within six feet of an individual with COVID-19 infection during their infectious period.”
Fresno County Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra said Friday that the county follows the state rules on reopening office settings. If a worker gets sick but is distanced from others, offices typically won’t have to close entirely. But if there is a cluster of infections, all the workers will need to be quarantined.
Vohra said having plans for how to respond to COVID-19 infections in the workplace is just reality of more businesses reopening.
in his email to workers, Serpa said, “We may reinstate remote work assignments if state or county orders change or if we reach certain thresholds of infection, but for now, they will be greatly curtailed.”
Worker concerned about social distancing
Some workers believe there is still uncertainty over bringing back a majority of employees. Becky Wharton, a principal office assistant in the planning and development services office, said she has continued to work in the office during the pandemic, but is wary of being in a setting with more workers.
“My major concern is that with everyone required to be in the office, there’s an even greater chance of spreading coronavirus,” she said. “We have a high risk of getting exposed now.”
Wharton has communicated her concerns with her managers. She said that offices in her department have distanced workers and employees are required to wear a mask.
However, she will have to wait and see how the new protocols work as more employees return.
This story was originally published August 1, 2020 at 9:50 AM.
CORRECTION: The original version of this story included a photo of the Clovis sign with an outdated caption. The next Clovis election is March 2, 2021.
