BRADENTON -- Manatee County administrator Scott Hopes reopened the county office building Monday, after a COVID outbreak tied to the IT department that turned deadly. Among IT workers, five were hospitalized with COVID. One of those five died, and another died without being hospitalized.

Hopes says mask recommendations remain voluntary. Employees who were vaccinated and came into proximity with others who came down with the virus, did not become infected. Hopes relaxed his initial position after learning that the outbreak was not of a variant that was resistant to vaccines.

Dr. Hopes, who has a medical background, says the Port Manatee security department reported three cases among unvaccinated workers. One of them is already back at work. He expects to get a report back from the health department on one of the employees who died, an IT specialist who passed away Thursday. One death was in the Business Services section of the IT department, composed of individuals who install and repair computers. The other fatality was in the Customer Service department.

"All of the known cases were not vaccinated," Hopes said. He added that a 23-year-old employee in IT Customer Service who was vaccinated and came in contact with those infected, did not come down with COVID. "We know of individuals in these departments that were fully vaccinated and did not come down with (COVID),"Hopes said.

Dr. Hopes added that he has instructed directors to notify HR when employees come down with COVID. "Case Zero" had symptoms around May 21st, started feeling symptoms around the 27th, and tested positive on May 29th. Hopes says he's waiting for confirmation of the type of variant involved in this outbreak.

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