WATERLOO, Ill (KMOX) - As of next Monday, April 27, Monroe County, Illinois residents will be able to go to the county courthouse to take care of business. Sheriff Neal Rohlfing says while they should still do as much as possible over the phone or internet, some things have to be done in person. "There's a lot of county business that has to be completed," he says. "There's real estate taxes appeals. The collection of real estate taxes. All the residential real estate sales going through the county clerk's office."
Rohlfing says they'll be taking several precautions, "We're putting up plexiglass barriers on the countertops. We're allowing one person in each office at a time. All the people coming in will be scanned for temperatures. They will be wearing masks." They're also taken additional measures with the cleaning staff.
Employees who don't feel comfortable returning, Rohlfing says, the CARES Act provides for paid leave, if they have children. He says some officeholders are staggering personnel or taking other measures. He suggests residents call the office they're going to visit before they head to the courthouse. He is also urging those who have flu-like symptoms, a fever, or have been in contact with COVID-19, to refrain from going there.
As far as fighting coronavirus, the sheriff says the health department "Feels really good about where we're at." He says most of the county's cases have involved two establishments. Without them, he says, the county's COVID-19 count would be in the mid-teens. As of Wednesday, Monroe County had 61 cases. Eight people have died, seven of whom were residents of the Garden Place senior living center in Columbia.