Covid cases down to zero at Westmoreland courthouse

Coronavirus is on a break at the Westmoreland County Courthouse.

It’s been two weeks since a new case among employees was reported at the courthouse and, as a result, temperature screenings at the building’s entry points were halted Thursday.

“We’ve seen a downward trend,” said Alexis Bevan, the county’s human resources director.

Since the start of the pandemic last March, about 120 courthouse staffers have contracted the virus, necessitating office closures and other safety precautions to slow the infection’s spread.

Commissioners hired a private nursing company to man the front entrance last spring to conduct temperature screenings for all who entered the building. Screenings were later taken over by park police and were halted over the summer as cases throughout the county subsided.

Temperature screenings resumed as cases surged in the fall and continued through this week.

Commissioners in December limited access to the courthouse to employees and residents who had prearranged appointments. Courts continued to operate and allowed participants to attend in person, although trials have been suspended for the past two months. They are scheduled to resume Feb. 22.

Virus cases throughout the county are on a downward trend.

According to statistics from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the county’s seven-day average of new cases decreased about 13% over the week. The county recorded an average of 76 new daily cases over the last week compared with 87 during the previous seven-day period.

Commissioners Doug Chew and Sean Kertes said Thursday the appointment requirement to conduct business at the courthouse could be lifted as early as next week.

“Cases are down, and we are discussing that,” Kertes said.

Meanwhile, some county staffers have started to receive covid vaccinations. Sheriff’s department deputies and staff and members of the park police were administered vaccine doses last month, and some employees in the county’s domestic relations department were vaccinated this week, officials said.

Those vaccinations are not part of an organized plan involving all of county government, and commissioners said they had no knowledge of shots being administered to employees.

“Department heads and row officers organized it on their own,” Chew said.

Public Safety Director Roland Mertz said his office connected county human service departments with Excela Health, which made vaccinations available to employees in direct contact with the public. Vaccinations were offered to children’s bureau, domestic relations, probation and district attorney office staff, Mertz said.