Oct 21, 2020 2 min read

An employee of the Washington County Clerk of Courts who did not deal directly with the public or handle paperwork received a positive result for the novel coronavirus mid-morning Monday, and the office will be closed to visitors until Friday, Oct. 30.

Clerk of Courts Brenda Davis said Tuesday that two members of her staff have also tested negative for COVID-19 but that she and employees will be quarantining while working remotely.

Davis said the employee who tested positive for the highly infectious disease was last in the clerk of courts office on Thursday, Oct. 15. The employee visited a doctor for what seemed to be allergies and was administered a COVID test, receiving the positive result about 10:30 a.m. Monday.

In addition to the deep-cleaning public areas of the courthouse receive during weekends, the office was scheduled for a deep-cleaning Monday, according to Court Administrator Patrick Grimm.

Neither Davis nor Grimm identified the employee.

“Contract tracing is being undertaken; any court employee identified in the contact tracing will be required to stay home in accordance with appropriate guidance, or until providing sufficient medical clearance to return to work,” Grimm wrote.

A member of the staff who was on vacation last week will be reporting after hours to process daily filings, Davis said, who noted that her office will continue to handle electronic filings “and not skip a beat.”

The clerk of courts is the filing office for criminal and miscellaneous cases, plus summary appeals.