Westmoreland officials planning for when state eases restrictions

Westmoreland County officials said they don’t know when Gov. Tom Wolf will lift the state’s stay-at-home order for the county but planning is under way for what the anticipated reopening will look like.

“We’ve been told by the governor’s office that Westmoreland County (government) can reopen anytime,” Commissioner Chairman Sean Kertes said.

While county government never totally closed amid the pandemic restrictions, commissioners scaled back services and furloughed more than 400 employees to reduce the flow of people who come to the courthouse.

The governor is expected to announce Friday which counties will be among the first in Pennsylvania to have some restrictions lifted. Local leaders are hopeful Westmoreland County, which through Wednesday has reported fewer than 400 total cases of the coronavirus, will be included with the first batch where stay-at-home orders are lifted May 8.

“It looks like we’ve hit our peak and are on the way down. I desperately hope we are,” Commissioner Doug Chew said.

Kertes said many county functions shuttered by the restrictions will remain in place until residents again are allowed to circulate in the community. When that occurs, operations at the courthouse will look different.

Kertes said the county will be required to follow CDC guidelines that call for masks to be worn in public locations and social distancing practiced by staff and courthouse visitors. Some of the county’s furloughed workers are expected to be recalled over the next several weeks, he said.

“This will be a process. We may have to put glass barriers in offices where staff interacts with the public, and the offices might look different because of social distancing,” Kertes said.

Commissioners said the planning involves only how government services will function when restrictions are lifted. Specifics that deal with other metrics set by the governor’s office as part of its decision-making with regards to easing stay-at-home orders have not been addressed at the local level.

Kertes said county leaders have had no discussions with the state about testing availability and contact tracing.

Westmoreland, like most counties throughout the state, does not have its own health department and has no one to oversee those procedures.

Chew said contact tracing work is handled by staff at the county’s hospitals and he expects that process will continue.

Meanwhile, county courts, which for the last six weeks handled mostly emergency hearings, on May 4 will phase in more routine duties such as pretrial civil and criminal hearings, according to President Judge Rita Hathaway. The judge said Wednesday those hearings will be conducted with defendants or litigants appearing by video or over the phone.

Nonjury trials won’t start until June, Hathaway said.

The state’s Supreme Court this week ordered the suspension of all jury trials through June. Hathaway said local officials will explore revised logistics for jury trials to allow for social distancing and account for fewer people who are permitted into the courtrooms.

“We know that once we are back up and running we will have quite a backlog,” Hathaway said.

County officials said they are confident all the precautions put in place at the courthouse will protect staff and the public.

“As long as we follow the current CDC guidelines I think everybody will be fine,” Chew said.