Ten Pasadena Officials, Including Police and Fire Chiefs, Self-Isolating After Coworker Comes Down with Fever

The police chief, interim fire chief, seven members of police command staff and the city spokeswoman are self-isolating as a precaution after one of them came down with a fever, officials said Wednesday.

The feverish police employee had already received one negative preliminary COVID-19 test result, but all were remaining quarantined pending the result of a second, more reliable test, Pasadena Police Department Lt. Pete Hettema said.

The employee who fell is was not identified, but officials said the person had attended a Monday news briefing on fireworks safety, as well as a police command meeting shortly after, said city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian, who herself was among those self-isolating.

The exposure risk was quite low, as all involved employees were wearing masks and social distancing while working in close proximity, she said. Media members and others did not come close to the employees during the news briefing.

“It will not affect day-to-day operations at all,” Derderian said.

She said the decision to self-isolate was a matter of “practicing what we preach,” she said. “This is what we tell the public to do.”

Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 is generally advised to quarantine at home for 14 days.