New London — New London Mayor Michael Passero said Sunday he is among of three city employees to test positive for COVID-19 over the past week.

The outbreak so far is contained to people working on the third floor of City Hall where the mayor’s office is located. Passero said he has only mild symptoms and plans to work from quarantine at home for 10 days.

Passero said he tested positive on Thursday, after one City Hall employee tested positive and prior to a third. He said he has been getting tested weekly.

“It’s disappointing to have gotten this far and been so careful, especially at City Hall, to have this happen now,” Passero said. "Nothing has changed except that I cannot go out in public. My days have been busier than ever."

Passero declined to discuss which other employees tested positive but said those people are also in quarantine.

City Hall has been closed to the public since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic with each city department scheduling appointments and performing most work remotely. All city commissions and boards continue to meet remotely and Passero is often in attendance at those meetings from his office in City Hall. Passero said he has not been in close contact with other city employees working on other floors of City Hall.

Interactions among City Hall employees are also limited, though there are construction workers in and out of the building performing renovation work.

Passero said he has been careful and looking back thinks it was probably a mistake to have the few in-person meetings that he did conduct over the past several weeks.

“Despite my best efforts I still managed to acquire the virus,” Passero said. “I want people to understand that they can’t be too vigilant and you can’t make exceptions to the rules. Wear a mask. Socially distance. We’re so close to getting the vaccine.”

News of the City Hall outbreak comes even as positive cases among members of the city’s fire  department, which last month peaked at nearly a dozen, have been eliminated.