CHARLESTON – Some employees have started working again in the Kanawha County Judicial Annex.
As of late last week, some employees began working again in the building, which saw seven employees and one spouse of an employee test positive for the Coronavirus. Thirty employees tested negative.
Kanawha County Sheriff Mike Rutherford said circuit judges, family court judge, circuit clerk employees and magistrate clerk employees started working in the building again following social distancing rules.
Salango
“No magistrates are in the building,” Rutherford told The West Virginia Record. “No attorneys, no members of the general public.”
Before the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department allowed those workers to re-enter the building, any employee who needed temporary access to the building had to gain permission from Kanawha Circuit Chief Judge Charles King and obtain access from Rutherford.
“We had a few circuit judges who needed to get back in there and grab a few things,” Rutherford said. “I initially wouldn’t let anyone in. Then, I would allow it if the chief judge said it was OK. I think there were two who needed back in there briefly during that period.”
Rutherford said the Kanawha County Voter Registration Office also is back open in a separate part of the annex.
“Everyone in the building is under orders to keep proper social distances between themselves,” Rutherford said. “And, like we did early on, they’re all using only one entrance, and everyone has to have their temperature taken and are quizzed about who they’ve been around.”
All things considered, Kanawha County Commissioner Ben Salango said he is pleased with how everyone has responded to the rules that were required to be put into place for the Judicial Annex and across the county in general. The Annex is closed to the public at least until April 27. Salango said the building has been professionally cleaned and sanitized.
“Now, I think we’re just waiting to see what happens with the progress of the disease to see if it continues to be flat, which is what we’re seeing right now in Kanawha County,” Salango told The Record. “It seems to have, right now at least, leveled off. People are following social distancing, and we are able to do more testing when needed. So, if we stay level and start to see a decline, we’ll address it then. But until we receive clearance form (KCHD Chief Health Officer) Dr. Sherri Young, we’ll stay in same position.”
Both Salango and Rutherford also said that the sheriff’s department hasn’t had to resort to using a GPS ankle monitoring device for anyone who tested positive but refused to quarantine. King entered an order April 6 allowing the sheriff’s department to do that if necessary.
That order came two days after Gov. Jim Justice added Kanawha County to an executive order urging more social distancing efforts because of the high number of positive tests in the county. It included limiting the number of people in groups to five as well as directing essential businesses to limit the number of people in a building and requiring people to work from home to the maximum extent.
“We had several patients early on who tested positive and initially refused to quarantine,” Salango said. “But, it hasn’t been an issue lately. This was an extraordinary order, but it could have been the only way to prevent a wide spread of the disease.
“It hasn’t had to be used yet, and we are optimistic and hopeful it won’t have to be used.”
Rutherford agreed.
“We haven’t even had to write any citations to anyone about this,” he said. “With an intentional violation by someone who has tested positive but refuses to quarantine, the first step is a citation that includes a minor fine. The next step then would be charging them with obstructing an officer. Then, the next step would be a court order that could require someone to wear the monitor.
“But, we’ve not had anyone who caused problems as far as refusing to self-quarantine.”
As of April 13, 626 West Virginia residents have tested positive for Coronavirus, and Kanawha County has seen at least 90 confirmed cases. Nine West Virginia residents have died of COVID-19.
The West Virginia Supreme Court has extended the Judicial Emergency because of the Coronavirus pandemic through May 1.