Covid-infected family votes at Westmoreland County Courthouse under special protocols

Westmoreland County elections officials took special precautions Tuesday as a family infected with the coronavirus appeared at the courthouse to cast ballots in the 2020 election.

Two parents and their adult son called ahead to make arrangements to vote, said Commissioner Doug Chew.

“I was the designated covid commissioner and went out to the lobby to meet them,” said Chew, who last month contracted the coronavirus. “I let them into the courthouse, they were all masked and presented their forms at the elections bureau counter.”

State officials issued guidance to counties this week to allow covid-infected voters to cast ballots on Tuesday.

The family was segregated from others at the far end of a pedestrian bridge a few hundred feet from the elections bureau as staff processed their ballot applications. Once approved, the family filled out their ballots, placed them in envelopes that were sanitized before they were were added.

“We had everything ready for them and they were here for about 15 minutes,” Chew said.

Public works crews used a special fog to sanitize the areas of the courthouse immediately after the family left, officials said.