Mayor Frank Picozzi said Wednesday that the City Hall Annex building in Buttonwoods will remain closed “for the foreseeable future” after a fifth municipal employee tested positive for the Covid-19 virus.

“For safety sake we have to stay closed,” he said. That doesn’t mean, however, that doing business with the city is at a standstill.

Tax payments, and sewer and water bills can be paid online or residents can put them in drop boxes located outside the Annex or City Hall. Most employees will be working from home and building inspectors will continue doing inspections in the field.

Before reopening Mayor Picozzi is urging those working from the building to be tested. He said the building would be fully sanitized.

Asked for a projection on how long the Buttonwoods Annex would be closed, Picozzi said it would “definitely” not reopen this week.