MALIBU—On August 6, 2021, city stated that several staff members working at Malibu City Hall contracted COVID-19. With further testing, it was confirmed that two members of staff tested positive who work in different departments and do not interact.

According to a news release from Matt Myerhoff, Media Information Officer for the city of Malibu, since the beginning of the pandemic, the city has been following Los Angeles County Department of Public Health safety protocols. When a staff member reports a positive COVID test, city management conducts thorough contact tracing. The first step is to determine if the individual was at Malibu City Hall while they were infected. A person is considered infectious beginning 48 hours prior to the onset of symptoms. A person with a positive COVID-19 test, but with no symptoms, is considered infectious from 48 hours before their test was taken until 10 days after their test.

The second step in contact tracing is to determine if the COVID positive individual had close contact with any staff members, consultants or visitors to City Hall.

Close contact includes:

-An individual who was within 6 feet of the infected person for at least 15 minutes, or

-An individual who had unprotected contact with the infected person’s body fluids and/or secretions, for example, being coughed or sneezed on, sharing utensils or saliva, or providing care without using appropriate protective equipment.

Anyone who is recognized as having close contact with a COVID-19-positive individual is notified by city management. If a person has not been vaccinated, they must self-isolate and monitor their health for 10 days after the last contact with the person with COVID-19. If the person has been fully vaccinated and has no symptoms of COVID-19, they do not need to quarantine. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose in a two-dose vaccine series or two weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine.

To protect public health throughout the pandemic, Malibu has implemented a series of exposure control measures. All city staff and visitors are required to use facemasks while indoors at Malbu City Hall and other city facilities. Other exposure control measures in place at City Hall include disinfection protocols, signage, hand sanitizer dispensers, Plexiglas shields and floor markers to promote physical distancing. Expanded online and remote service has been implemented to reduce the need to be in the building physically to conduct business. In response to growing concerns about the Delta variant, the city of Malibu created a single public entry to the main lobby and is requiring that visitors check in at reception. All visitors to the City’s public counters are asked to wait outside until they can be helped.

City Hall remains open to the public with facemasks required and exposure measures and contract tracing protocols in place. Malibu is continuing to monitor conditions and release information as possible that is relevant to the community’s public health and safety. Community members who are concerned about COVID-19 safety should consider using the City’s online, phone and Zoom services rather than in-person services. For details on how to access these remote services, call Malibu City Hall at 310-456-2489 or visit https://malibucity.org/appointments to make an appointment.