Due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Lawrence County Courthouse began the public’s access in an effort to protect workers. People will only be seen by appointment until further notice.

Now, people entering the courthouse will be asked which office they are going to and if they have an appointment. If they do not have an appointment, they will not be allowed in and will have to call the office to set up a meeting or take care of their business by electronic means.

The commissioners began talking to county officeholders earlier this week about what should be done after a number of employees contracted COVID-19.

After a discussion, county officials have changed their operations back to virtual meetings, email, telephone and physical mail until it is deemed safe to fully reopen.

Lawrence County has seen a steady rise of cases in the past two weeks with 20-50 new cases reported every day. On Thursday, the number of new cases was at 60, the highest number ever reported in the county.

At their weekly meeting, Commissioner DeAnna Holliday pointed out that the high rate of COVID-19 cases are affecting the county government, such as the treasurer’s office being closed to the public.

“As you can see, it is affecting everything negatively right now,” Holliday said. “And that is what we don’t want. We are having to make tough choices on procedures and operations.”

At this time, most county government offices remain open and fully operational during normal business hours. The Lawrence County Treasurer’s Office is currently closed to the public, but remains operational. The prosecutor’s office is closed until Monday and the county courts are closed until Nov. 19.

Lawrence County is not the only area county closing government buildings.

On Thursday, it was announced that the Greenup County Courthouse and Annex would be closed until Nov. 30, due to that county’s rising COVID-19 numbers. It had been closed for several days in October and November for deep cleaning.

The Ashland City building has been closed since Nov. 6 to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

A list of Lawrence County offices and there are as follows: 

• Commissioners, 740-533-4300

• Treasurer, 740-533-4304/4305

• Recorder, 740-533-4314/4315

• Auditor, 740-533-4310

• Board of Election, 740-532-0444

• Veterans, 740-533-4327

• OSU Extension Office, 740-533-4322

• Clerk of Courts (Title), 740-533-4353

• Clerk of Courts (Legal), 740-533-4355

• Prosecutor, 740-533-4360

• Probate/Juvenile Court, 740-533-4340/4341

• Common Pleas Court, 740-533-4329

• Adult Probation, 740-533-4380