County responds to COVID increase

Starting Monday, visitors to Jay County Courthouse will need to schedule appointments. County government business will be limited to essential work only, and county employees’ compensatory time for overtime accrued during the pandemic will be extended through March 31, 2021.

Jay County Commissioners made those decisions at an emergency meeting Tuesday and plan to sign a resolution to that effect at another emergency meeting Monday.

Commissioner Chuck Huffman, who joined the meeting via phone, voiced concerns about the coronavirus spreading to county departments.

“We just need to try to limit that contact but at the same time try to take care of our residents’ business,” he said.

Jay County had 14 new cases of COVID-19 reported Tuesday, bringing its total to 964. Of those, 544 have come this month.

There was also one additional death for a total of 13.

Several attendees at the meeting — including commissioners and county auditor Anna Culy — anticipate that Indiana State Department of Health will designate Jay County as “red” (severe) in Wednesday’s update. (While the update comes every Wednesday, county statuses are based on Sunday numbers.) The county has already been in the high risk range on the map for several weeks with a score of 2.5 on a three-point scale.

Surrounding counties may shift to red as well, they said.

In order to prevent further spread of the virus, Huffman suggested reverting to actions similar to a resolution commissioners signed in May.

That resolution amended a previous measure from April, extending and expanding guidelines to keep the county in line with Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s stay-at-home order.

In May, commissioners established that:

•Jay County Courthouse would be open regular hours to employees but closed to the general public, with essential business available by appointment.

•Members of the public entering the courthouse or any county government building should wear facial coverings.

•Local government employees would be required to wear facial coverings while waiting on the public. They would also need to social distance from others at least 6 feet, wash or sanitize their hands and disinfect high-contact surfaces regularly.

•The courthouse superintendent (Bruce Sutton) would clean and disinfect the building and provide hand sanitizer and disinfectant to all offices.

The resolution to be signed Monday is planned to put those same guidelines in place.

Commissioner Mike Leonhard reminded commissioners about the time off government employees have received from working overtime during the early months of the pandemic. That time may not be used by the deadline set for the end of the year with new restrictions in place, he pointed out.

“Who knows when this — I don’t want to say it — when it’s going to be over?” he said.

Commissioners Chad Aker and Huffman agreed and approved a motion unanimously to extend the deadline for using compensatory time by 90 days, or by March 31, 2021.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance recently for how to safely celebrate the holiday season. It suggests lower-risk options such as limiting celebrations to those who live in the same household, having a virtual gathering and watching sporting events and parades from home. Details are available at bit.ly/CDCholidays.

Coronavirus is mainly spread through respiratory droplets or small particles from an infected person coughing, sneezing, talking or breathing. The CDC reports that it may be possible those particles and droplets remain suspended in the air for an unknown period of time and travel beyond 6 feet, especially indoors.

CDC guidelines encourage wearing a mask and avoiding close contact when around others and frequent hand washing and surface cleaning as ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The virus causes a range of symptoms, which can appear two to 14 days after exposure. Older adults and those with pre-existing health problems are susceptible to more severe illnesses.