Roseville Fire Chief Keith Jacobs is staying out of the fire hall after he tested positive for the COVID-19 virus over the weekend.
Jacobs said he was feeling ill last week with sinus issues and his fever spiked heading into the weekend. His positive test came back on Sunday, he said.
“(I) figured I should test before coming into work,” Jacobs said in an email. “Came back positive, so staying away till I’m not contagious.”
The 52-year-old fire chief, who was appointed by the City Council in 2021, made the health disclosure in an email to department officials and the media on Monday. He was giving a heads-up because he won’t be in attendance for an Eagle Scout presentation at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Jacobs said he was still answering email and taking phone calls at home despite his illness.
“Just following the CDC guidelines before going back to work,” he said.
He plans on returning to the fire department Wednesday or Thursday.
According to the Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention, more than 6.8 million people in the United States have been hospitalized with COVID since 2020 and 1,185,413 have died.
Although medical experts no longer feel COVID-19 is an emergency, virus-related hospitalizations were trending up in Michigan in winter moths.
CDC officials encouraged vaccinations and testing for all circulating respiratory viruses over the Christmas holidays.
