Chamblee City Councilman Tests Positive For COVID-19 After In-Person Meeting

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Chamblee City Hall

After holding its first in-person public meeting in more than two months, a councilman tested positive for COVID-19.

The Chamblee City Council held its first in-person public meeting at the Chamblee Civic Center on May 14. Three days later, Councilman Brian Mock tested positive for the virus.

The city announced on a Facebook post that an attendee did not have any symptoms of COVID-19 when they were at the meeting, but became symptomatic the next day and notified the city when they were diagnosed with the virus on May 17.

Mock told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported he did not feel sick when he went to the Thursday night meeting, but he tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, and everyone who was at the Chamblee Civic Center on Thursday is being asked to self-isolate for two weeks.

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The city notified attendees who provided their contact information at the meeting after they learned about the positive test.

The city council did take precautions and attempted to enforce social distancing measures to ensure everyone’s safety. Some of the actions taken included limiting staff attendance, spacing chairs 10 feet apart in the civic center and providing hand sanitizer throughout the building.

The asymptomatic virus carrier was wearing a mask during the meeting, and kept at least 6-feet away from other attendees.

“The meeting at the civic center was broadcast live for the first time so individuals could hear the debate without attending in person,” the city said on Facebook. “Public comments were accepted via email as well as in person. Officers and staff monitored for symptoms, and temperatures were taken of all attendees before they were allowed to enter.”

Chamblee’s decision to hold this public meeting was part of the city’s transitioning plan to reopening for in-person public meetings. There were six public hearings scheduled for the May 14 meeting, and three of them were deferred from April and had to wait over 60 days before the next hearing.

The city held its first city council meeting since the COVID-19 diagnosis on May 19 on an online webinar.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect that an attendee who tested positive for coronavirus after the May 14 meeting was Councilman Brian Mock.