PARIS — The Northeast Bank branch at 235 Main St. closed Monday due to a potential exposure to COVID-19.
An employee at the Paris branch informed a superior of the possible exposure to the virus. All employees affected have been placed in quarantine for 14 days.
“We were alerted on Monday, July 27, that our South Paris staff may have been exposed to COVID-19 and have taken precautionary measures, including disinfecting all work areas and customer engagement surfaces before reopening the South Paris Banking Center. All affected employees have been placed in 14-day quarantine and supporting staff from neighboring banking centers will be onsite when we reopen,” Chris Delamater, vice president and marketing director for Northeast Bank, said in a statement released Wednesday.
The branch employees six people, Delamater said.
Delamater refused to answer how many employees were tested and how many tested positive, saying that the bank is “not able to disclose protected health information at this time.” He also wouldn’t say if more tests are planned.
But in an answer to another question, he said, “we do not have a confirmed COVID-19 case.”
The branch is expected to reopen Thursday with staff from other branches.
Because there are no confirmed COVID-19 cases, Delamater said that Northeast bank is not working directly with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
“However, (the bank is) implementing strict cleaning and sanitizing guidelines which are above-and-beyond CDC requirements.,” he said.
The bank will not change any of its policies or procedures with its customers because of the possible exposure.
“Our main focus is to effectively deliver banking services while keeping customers and employees safe,” Delamater said. “As a result, we will continue to follow our same policy and procedures when dealing with the public, which includes servicing all transactions via drive-thru windows and by appointment. In addition, we will continue to take swift action if it’s possible one of our employees has been exposed to COVID-19, including deep cleaning all affected offices, 14-day quarantine for affected employees, and safely reopening with new staff members.
While the Paris location was closed, customers still had access to their accounts online and through mobile banking. A nearby branch in Poland had drive-thru service available.
Oxford County has had 51 COVID-19 cases to date, seventh highest among Maine’s 16 counties.
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