COVID-positive Queens court clerk returns to work after Texas trip
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The Queens Criminal Court building in Kew Gardens. Eagle photo by David Brand
By David Brand
A Queens court clerk who returned to work after a trip to Texas learned she had COVID-19 during her shift at the Queens Criminal Courthouse, potentially exposing several staff members to the illness.
The senior clerk, who the Eagle is not naming for medical privacy reasons, got a call from her doctor informing her of the diagnosis while working in the arraignments part of the criminal courthouse on July 1, court officials said.
“As part of our protocol, all uniformed officers, clerks, clerical staff and NYPD officers that were working have been notified of the positive diagnosis,” said Office of Court Administration spokesperson Lucian Chalfen. “All have been advised to contact and follow the advice of their medical provider, as is standard.”
The Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which runs courthouses in New York City, conducted an “enhanced cleaning” of the areas the clerk worked that day, Chalfen added.
Queens court personnel and the leader of the union representing state supreme court officers were livid with the clerk for returning to work before receiving her test results. Texas has had one of the country’s largest spikes in new COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.
“While waiting for the results she should have remained at home and not exposed her fellow workers,” said New York State Court Officers Association President Dennis Quirk in a Facebook post making the rounds among Queens court personnel, including judges.
Last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order directing people to self-quarantine after traveling from a state where COVID-19 is spiking.
“I guess she chose to ignore that,” Quirk said.
Quirk told the Eagle that court officers said the clerk had used a copy machine and had come in close contact with several officers, including one person undergoing cancer treatment.
“The fact that she came back from Texas, she felt it necessary to get tested. She should have stayed at home,” Quirk said. “She puts them all in danger.”
He called on the Office of Court Administration to direct personnel to stay home after receiving a COVID-19 test until they get the results.
Quirk has sued the state court system and Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, claiming they have not taken adequate precautions to protect court personnel from the coronavirus as courthouses reopen across New York City and throughout the state.
Several Queens court personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 since March.
A state supreme court justice working in the Supreme Court, Civil Term building in Jamaica became the first judge in the state to test positive for the illness on March 19, the Eagle reported.
Arraignments and other court proceedings continue to be conducted remotely, but court officers, clerks, judges and other staff members are all working at courthouses in Queens and elsewhere in New York City.
