Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Chambers County Courthouse in LaFayette and the Lanett Annex have been closed until the end of January. This is being done as a precaution against the continuing spread of COVID-19.

“There have been outbreaks at both the Courthouse and the Annex,” County Attorney Skip McCoy told The Valley Times-News. “Some offices inside the courthouse have had to close due to the infection. This is something we need to do to safeguard both the staff and the public.”

McCoy said he met Friday morning with the local judges and some county commissioners to discuss the situation and that all agreed the closures needed to be done, effective immediately.

Circuit Judge Ray Martin (who’s presiding in the upcoming session) signed the order to close the two buildings. That decision will be revisited near the end of the month. Depending on the outbreak at that time, the courthouse and annex could reopen or remain closed.

“We will have a professional crew come in to sanitize the buildings,” McCoy said. “We thought it was what we had to do. Multiple offices have had people who have tested positive.”

Most of those who have tested positive are in quarantine, and some are in the hospital.”We are in a difficult position right now because of exposure and re-exposure,” McCoy said. “We have got to protect our people.”

McCoy expressed the view that there is a critical need for people to be vaccinated. “Our community leaders need to step forward on this,” he said. “They need to set a good example for the public to follow.”