PEORIA, Ill. — The Peoria Salvation Army could lose $100,000 worth of seasonal income after a worker contracted COVID-19, prompting the organization to tell bell ringers to stay home for the foreseeable future.
The worker, who was a driver who took volunteers to kettle sites, found out Tuesday night they tested positive.
“We don’t know how extensive the interaction was, but we’re taking all precautions to make sure everybody’s safe,” said Major Jesse Collins.
Collins said the contact tracing process as of Wednesday morning had begun.
A news release the organization sent out indicated the bells would be silenced through Sunday, though Collins hinted it could be longer.
“Quarantine’s seven to 14 days. We’re going to follow what CDC and the [Peoria City/County] Health Department require,” he said.
“We’re committed to being completely safe. We’ve promised that and committed that to our stores.
“I’m trying to put a plan together with some other help where we may be able to ring [at] some locations this weekend. We certainly wouldn’t be able to cover all of them but, some of our key spots, we may be able to cover.”
People who would still like to donate may do so by dropping money off to one of the local offices, via mail, or at SAPeoria.org.
“The bells are such an uplifting sound when you go to a store,” Collins lamented.
“It just puts you in the mood for Christmas, and I think for them to fall silent is going to be a really hard thing.”
