As the community continues to flatten the COVID-19 curve, beginning Monday, June 22, 2020, Dougherty County will reopen Government offices and departments to the public with regular business hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The three-phase reopening plan is designed to provide safety for both employees and others entering county buildings and offices.

Phase One is the initial reintroduction of personnel back into the workplace, with not all employees returning to their physical work location immediately. Under Phase One, County Department Managers and essential employees will return to the workplace. County employees must practice social distancing, with employees remaining at least six feet apart from each other. Altered work schedules may be practiced, as needed, with teleworking continuing as long as there is not disruption of services rendered to the public. Employees will stagger lunch schedules/breaks to avoid congregations in the break rooms. Masks will be required for all county employees, as well as any patrons entering county buildings.

As long as positive health trends continue in the community for the first two weeks of Phase One, the county will transition to Phase Two, which includes a gradual reintro- duction of more employees into the workplace. Under this phase, Department Managers

will begin to phase more employees back into the office. Retrofitting of offices will also be completed under this phase, if necessary. This includes installing dividers or shields between cubicles and other preventative measures. Also, no more than two employees will be allowed to travel in County vehicles or equipment at one time. Masks will con- tinue to be required by all employees and patrons to county departments under this phase, and social distancing is suggested.

Phase Three assumes normal operations, but at this time, there is no established time- line to achieve this stage, considering this process is both fragile and gradual, with the county exercising every precaution to protect employees and citizens.

“Our community has suffered tremendously through the COVID-19 pandemic and we are still facing challenges,” said Michael McCoy, Dougherty County Administrator. “While we want to reopen our county departments and offices to better serve our public, we must do so with continuous care and attention, utilizing safety precautions and strict guidelines to protect our employees and our citizens.”

Dougherty County Judicial System, which includes Superior, Probate, Magistrate, and State Courts, will operate under strict guidelines with the county reopening scheduled for June 22, 2020. However, these courts will not resume normal operations until an an- ticipated date of July 12, 2020. The guidelines for the Dougherty County Judicial Sys- tem can be found at http://dougherty.ga.us/filestorage/1800/379008/379647/Guide- lines.pdf