Clara White Mission reopens after several residents, employees tested positive for COVID-19

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One long-time employee, Keith Smith, died battling the virus

Clara White Mission reopens aft Covid-19 Outbreak

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Clara White Mission had to temporarily adjacent its nutrient programme and drop-in halfway for cleaning. Everyone impacted besides had to beryllium retested earlier it could reopen Monday.

The Clara White Mission has been a staple successful the Jacksonville community, offering meals and transitional lodging for the homeless. Several residents and employees were infected with COVID-19. With that, the ngo was cleaned and those who were impacted were enactment into quarantine.

The Mission’s longtime chef, Keith Smith, served for much than 3 decades. He died aft contracting COVID-19.

Loved ones celebrated the beingness of longtime Clara White Mission cook Keith Smith connected Saturday. (WJXT)

His household said helium mislaid his battle, contempt being afloat vaccinated.

He was 51 years aged and began arsenic a unpaid astatine the ngo erstwhile helium was conscionable a teenager. He was described arsenic a gentle elephantine missed by all.

Clara White’s CEO, Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman, was besides hospitalized with COVID-19.

It’s unclear if she contracted it during the outbreak astatine the mission.

The president of the Clara White Mission, Michelle Paul, released a connection thanking the assemblage for its prayers and enactment implicit the past fewer weeks.

“Upon learning of the affirmative cases, the Clara White Mission was instantly closed and CDC guidelines were followed for clearing d quarantining affected individuals,” Paul wrote. “All residents who tested affirmative were asymptomatic. All residents and employees were retested and each employees indispensable supply a transcript of their antagonistic trial results anterior to their return.”