(File Photo)

(Beaver County Pa.) The Beaver County commissioners strongly refute claims by the SEIU and employees of the county that are speaking out and saying they are concerned after 35 of their colleagues tested positive for COVID-19 and another 63 employees are in quarantine.

Some employees feel the county is not doing enough to protect them and does not have clear and consistent COVID-19 workplace policies.

The Beaver County commissioners held a press conference on the courthouse steps yesterday at 4pm to deny those claims. They said about 25% of the COVID-19 cases among county employees are from socializing outside of work.

Beaver County Commissioners Chairman Dan Camp said “A good deal of these employees who tested positive or are quarantining are due to outside social events,” Camp went on to say we can’t control the decisions that employees make when they are not at work on their own personal time and their commitment to the health and safety of county employees and the community has never wavered. They follow all COVID-19 protocol and will continue to make the courthouse and other county facilities as safe as possible for all employees.

Camp said that of that they currently have 35 people who have tested positive and 63 who are in quarantine. Camp said that that is near 100 employees who are unable to work. The Sheriff’s office is the hardest hit but he said they are still able to function with the limited number of staff available in the Sheriff’s Department.

Beaver County Commissioner Jack Manning wanted to make a statement during the press conference since his name was directly linked to some of the statements. Manning said “I’m highly offended and categorically refute every single word,”