A Missouri election official who had tested positive for Covid-19 four days before the election worked at a suburban St Louis polling site, potentially exposing nearly 2,000 voters to the virus.

The person, who has since died, was an election judge at the Blanchette Park Memorial Hall voting station in Lake Charles, officials announced on Thursday, without identifying the person who died.

They added that the person had been advised after their positive test to quarantine for 14 days. The cause of death is unknown, they said.

The midwestern state has seen 200,042 infections, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been 3,117 deaths recorded in Missouri, and 234,944 deaths nationwide.