University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Photo: Cooopersmith via Wikimedia Commons

A person who sat for Colorado's in-person bar exam this week has tested positive for COVID-19, and officials are urging those who took the test in the same room to closely monitor themselves for coronavirus symptoms.

There were 20 other people taking the exam with the infected candidate in the room at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, said Jessica Yates, attorney regulation counsel for the Colorado Supreme Court on Thursday.

"We learned about this yesterday evening after the bar exam was finished," Yates said. "The examinee informed us that they had taken a COVID test in anticipation of a surgical procedure and learned through a voicemail received after the exam that the test came back positive."

The infected candidate was asymptomatic during the exam. They passed two temperature checks and successfully completed four health questionnaires, Yates added. They wore a mask during the exam—as was required of all test takers—and were seated six feet from other test takers during the exam.

Colorado is among the 23 jurisdictions that administered in-person bar exams July 28 and 29. The state's supreme court earlier this month rejected a petition to adopt an emergency diploma privilege that would allow law graduates to be licensed without taking the bar exam. Diploma privilege advocates across the country have argued that it's too dangerous to hold in-person exams when COVID-19 cases are rising in many states.

Colorado's nearly 700 bar exam takers were spread across the three separate venues. The University of Denver's 168 law graduates took the test on its campus, spread across six different classrooms.

Yates said the law school has informed other candidates who tested in the same room as the infected person that they do not need to self-quarantine, but that they should closely monitor for any COVID-19 symptoms. The University of Denver issued a statement Thursday confirming that it had been informed by the examinee that they had tested positive for COVID-19 and that the university is taking appropriate follow-up measures.

"The University's COVID response team was promptly informed of this development and has instituted appropriate protocols to be used in such instances, including contact tracing," said the university's statement.

Meanwhile, any other Colorado examinees who test positive within 14 days of completing the bar exam are required to notify the court, and it will continue to monitor the situation, Yates said.