Potential bar exam virus exposure reported

An applicant who started taking the Virginia Bar Exam in Richmond Sept. 10 reportedly left early and later tested positive for COVID-19, the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners reported.

The announcement posted on the VBBE website said the agency learned of the incident through an unconfirmed social media post.

A Twitter account posted the report the evening after the one-day bar exam session at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. The tweet said the applicant began experiencing symptoms halfway through the exam and thereafter tested positive with a rapid antigen test. The tweet did not cite the source of the information or any information about the applicant.

The VBBE said it was working closely with the Richmond City Health Department to identify anyone who had close contact with the individual to determine if they might have been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19.

“At this time, we have no information indicating that any applicant was in close contact with this individual at the bar exam. Based on the health and safety protocols implemented, no applicant should have been in close contact with this individual at the bar exam,” the VBBE announcement said.

The Sept. 10 Richmond test session was announced before the normal two-day July exam in Roanoke as relief for applicants concerned about the Roanoke session. The Richmond test offered appropriate precautions, and the 198 applicants followed health and safety protocols, according to VBBE Secretary Treasurer Catherine Crooks Hill.

The July exam had produced no reports of related infection, Hill said.

“We are not aware of any COVID-19 cases that might have originated from the July exam,” Hill said.

Results of the Sept. 10 bar exam are expected to be released Nov. 20.