City manager tests positive for COVID-19; San Miguel County sees rise in positive cases

At least one of the county’s recent COVID-19 cases has come from inside Las Vegas City Hall after City Manager William Taylor tested positive for the virus over the weekend.

City Councilor David Romero said he was notified of the positive test result Monday.

“Hopefully everyone who has been in contact with him has been notified about getting tested,” Romero said. “We need to ensure the safety of our employees, and those who were in contact with him need to be tested or quarantined.”

Mayor Louie Trujillo told the Optic that Taylor began feeling ill last week, but hasn’t been working since first experiencing symptoms.

“He was out of the office all of last week. The week prior, he only had one meeting,” Trujillo said. “We’re moving forward with disinfecting his work quarters and the office where he works. He wasn’t around when he was symptomatic.”

Trujillo said that in addition to disinfecting Taylor’s office, the administrative staff was advised to get tested, and the city has contacted everyone Taylor may have had recent contact with.

“The people who met with him the week prior (to him feeling ill) have also been tested, and are negative,” Trujillo said.

Taylor had recently traveled out of state, but self-quarantined upon his return to New Mexico, according to Trujillo.

“He only came to one meeting after that,” Trujillo said. “He traced back his calendar and it looks like everyone he was in contact with was contacted, including me.”

Trujillo said he was tested for COVID-19 on Monday, and that he will self-isolate while he awaits the results of the test.

As of Monday, San Miguel County had reported a total of 171 cases since its first reported case March 19. Mora County has reported a total of 14 cases since its first reported case July 10.

Statewide 42,586 positive cases have been reported, with 20,910 of those cases being designated by the New Mexico Department of Health as having recovered. As of Monday, 976 people in New Mexico have died of the virus, with no deaths reported in San Miguel or Mora counties.

Despite rising cases and a positive case within City Hall, Trujillo said he does not currently plan to direct employees to work remotely.

“We’re going to continue our regular random testing. We do so many employees per week, and we’ll continue to do that,” Trujillo said. “If it continues to be a problem, we will discuss working remotely.”