As the number of COVID-19 cases in Liberty County continues to climb, county offices are feeling the impact as some of the cases involve county employees or their family members, according to County Judge Jay Knight.
The county’s four road and bridge precincts have cut back to split shifts to limit exposure among employees. Some road and bridge employees are working on Mondays and Tuesdays while their peers are working Wednesdays and Thursdays.
“Leon [Wilson, Pct. 4 commissioner] has three people out either with COVID-19 or are being tested,” Knight said. “That’s certainly going to slow down some of the work we are able to do on roads.”
The Liberty County District Clerk’s office is on Week 2 of a shutdown after an employee contracted COVID-19. The rest of the employees are quarantined and unable to return to work at this time.
Knight also is under quarantine after he was exposed to COVID-19 last week when one of his employees came down with the illness.
“Our office is closed right now and we are all working from home,” he said.
The county courthouse annexes in Cleveland and Dayton likewise are closed after employees fell ill and tested positive for COVID-19. The tax office in Liberty remains open at this time.
“With license plates and registration, the state is still giving Texans a pass on renewing them right now,” Knight said.
Once the systems are back in operation and the immediate threat of COVID-19 has passed, Texas motorists will have a 60-day grace period to get their renewals before they can be fined or ticketed.
Knight is encouraging Liberty County residents to try handling their county business matters either by phone, through email or online. For contact information for these offices, go online to https://www.co.liberty.tx.us/