New — Common Pleas Court Continuing Operation Plan for the Clermont County Courthouse in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Public Health Emergency — New

Until further notice, access to the building will be limited to:
A. Officials and staffs of the following offices and departments: Court, Clerk of Courts, Adult Probation Department, and Law Library;
B. Persons present for scheduled cases, including parties to cases and their immediate family members, pro se litigants, victims and their immediate family members, a victim representative, witnesses, and jurors and prospective jurors;.
C. Persons seeking to file or access papers in any office, or seeking to file a petition for a civil protection order, or paying court costs or restitution;
D. Attorneys and staff having business before the Court or with any office in the Courthouse;
E. Law enforcement officers having business before the Court or with any office in the Courthouse; and
F. Members of the press

Court Services shall continue to enforce the screening requirements currently in place as routine safety measures for the Courthouse.

In addition, court services shall perform COVID-19 health screening as to all persons entering the courthouse.
Screening will include taking of temperature using a temporal thermometer and the following questions, and others like them:
-Within the past 24 hours, have you felt like you had a fever?
-Within the past 24 hours, have you had a new or worsening cough, shortness of breath, a sore throat, or headaches?
-Is your health being monitored by a doctor or any local health department for any COVID-19 symptoms?
-Within the past 14 days, have you had contact with anyone known to be infected by COVID-19?
-Have you traveled outside the United States within the last 21 days or have you been quarantined by any health department or director of health?

If persons are asked to empty belongings onto a common surface, such as a tray, the common surface should be sanitized after each use.

Court Services may deny entrance to anyone they determine may present a risk to the health and safety of others, based upon the results of these screening protocols.

Appropriate markings shall be made to maintain social distancing of at least six feet between persons when entering the courthouse.

Persons entering the building shall be informed of the six-foot social distancing requirement.

Face coverings (covering both mouth and nose) or masks shall be required for entry into the building. This does not need to be a hospital-grade mask (does not need to be N95).

A facial mask or covering shall be provided to a person wishing to enter the courthouse if the person does not have a suitable mask.

Anyone permitted to enter the Courthouse shall be required to clean his/her hands, immediately upon entrance, with appropriate hand sanitizer that will be available at the Courthouse checkpoint.