The Tompkins County Health Department announced possible COVID-19 exposures at the Target at The Shops at Ithaca Mall.
In a Nov. 12 statement, the department announced that an individual who tested positive for COVID-19 had worked at the Lansing Target customer service desk while they were at risk of infecting others. The potential exposure time was from 1:45 to 10:30 p.m. Nov. 3.
The individual is in isolation. They are a resident of a different county, so that county is taking care of contact tracing, the statement said. Close contacts will be contacted by that county.
Anyone who was at Target during those times should monitor their health for COVID-19 symptoms for 14 days from the last time they were at the business. They should also get tested at the sampling site at The Shops at Ithaca Mall.
“As we see an increase in cases in our community and region, we may see an increase in potential public exposures like this one,” Frank Kruppa, Tompkins County public health director, said in a Nov. 12 statement. “It is critical that anyone who may have been present at the customer service desk get tested and monitor themselves for symptoms.”
There are 101 active cases in Tompkins County as of Nov. 12, which is the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic. Since March, there have been 748 total cases. There were 718 cases as of Nov. 11, so this is an increase of 30 cases in one day.
The new cases are associated with clusters from small gatherings in the county, including college students who attended multiple gatherings with different groups of people at each gathering.Ithaca College students who are experiencing symptoms should call the Hammond Health Center at 607-274-3177. Faculty and staff members who are symptomatic are not allowed on campus and should go to the sampling site at The Shops at Ithaca Mall. On-campus testing is available for students and employees from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Tuesday and Wednesday at the Athletics and Events Center. There have been 46 positive cases at the college since Aug. 14.
