Nov 11, 2020 5 min read

WAYNESBURG – Four out of five poll workers at the Franklin West precinct have tested positive for COVID-19, but the Greene County Elections Office is declining to release information to voters, citing medical privacy laws.

Mona Stewart and her sister, Paula Tennant Zeiler, said they tested positive Sunday and Monday respectively just a few days after working together for 15 hours on Election Day at Waynesburg First Assembly of God in the East View neighborhood of Franklin Township.

Both have experienced mild symptoms after beginning to feel ill over the weekend. Stewart, who is the precinct’s judge of elections, said she was tested Sunday and it came back positive, prompting her to notify the other poll workers of her diagnosis. Zeiler was tested Monday, and the rapid test also showed her as positive, along with two others who also have the disease. The results for a test on the fifth worker have not been returned as of Tuesday, although that person is not experiencing any symptoms, Stewart and Zeiler said.

Stewart said she contacted Greene elections officials Monday, but was told they could not release any information to the public on the advice of the county’s solicitor due to federal HIPAA rules. She found that response in contrast with federal Centers for Disease Control guidelines that advise contact tracing.

“I disagree with that,” Stewart said. “If someone knows they have COVID and you don’t tell me, that puts me, my family and others at risk. When you know for a fact you’ve been diagnosed with it – I’m not saying to say their names – and there’s four out of five of us who have tested positive … my concern is it could turn into something more serious for someone with respiratory issues.”

Elections Director Judy Snyder did not respond to a phone message seeking comment Tuesday, while Greene County Commissioner Mike Belding said it was up to the state Department of Health – not the county – to conduct contact tracing for COVID-19 patients. He declined to comment on the situation involving the Franklin West precinct, but said “there’s information out there on social media” from at least one poll worker explaining the infections.

Stewart and Zeiler, both of whom noted the state DOH has been in contact with them, said their main concern is letting voters know of their diagnosis. The vast majority of the 252 people who voted at the precinct Nov. 3 were wearing masks, they said, and the voting machines were regularly wiped down with disinfectant. The five elections workers wore masks while voters were in the church’s separate rec center where the voting machines were located, but Stewart and Zeiler admitted the poll workers weren’t always wearing the masks when the hall was empty.

“We were pretty busy at times, but people weren’t on top of each other,” Zeiler said. “I don’t think people who were coming through the line had much exposure.”

Stewart and Zeiler are quarantining at home with their families, and neither attended church this past Sunday because they were feeling ill. But they’re worried about others who have been in contact with them and the infected poll workers.

Zeiler said she typically works two days a week with a woman who has a compromised immune system, so it’s important to contact trace to either be tested or quarantine so as not to further spread the disease. She posted on her Facebook page Monday about her diagnosis to let voters at Franklin West know about the situation. She was feeling better Tuesday, while Stewart was still feeling the effects of the disease.

“For the average person, I don’t think it should be feared the way people are fearing it, but it should be respected,” Zeiler said. “Take care of yourself.”

A man who identified himself as pastor of Waynesburg First Assembly of God declined to comment Tuesday. It was not known what steps the church has taken to clean the facility, or whether services were being held remotely, although a sign on the church’s office door said it was closed until Saturday.

“There’s no blame game,” Stewart said of the outbreak. “I just want people to be aware that if you were in our precinct on Election Day to monitor your signs and take care of yourself since four out of five of us tested positive. People need to be vigilant.”

She is quarantining for two weeks, but is doing her best to reach out individually to people she was in contact with last week, especially those who may be more vulnerable to the disease.

“I can’t understand why (county elections officials) can’t make people aware so they know,” Stewart said. “Bottom line is I let them know what to do with the information. I have it, and I don’t want anyone else to get it.”

Greene County Messenger reporter Steve Barrett contributed to this story.