COCKE COUNTY, Tenn. — Coronavirus can spread everywhere, including in government offices. To slow the spread of COVID-19, the Cocke County Sessions Court Clerk installed a sneeze guard to protect her employees.
The Cocke County Courthouse in Newport is a little quieter lately. Deputies are stationed at the back door, questioning every person who tries to enter. That way, only essential business is being handled.
General Session Court Clerk Frankie "Peachie" Cody said the number of customers they have seen over the last week dropped drastically.
"We usually see around 100 people a day and it's down to 10 or 15," Cody said.
The offices inside the courthouse are still open to the public despite the pandemic, including General Sessions Court, because there's still work to be done.
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"The judge does arraignments every morning, so we have paperwork to do," Cody explained.
The space at Cody's counter used to be wide open before coronavirus began spreading. It was an open window where people came to pay file cases.
After the pandemic started, Cody became worried about employees interacting with customers. So, she paid over $150 out of her own pocket to have Plexiglas installed.
She bought the materials and her nephew installed it.
"We talked about it and wondered what we could do," Cody said. "We had this big window, but it's solid. The top pulls down just to lock, so it didn't help us any but after he got the Plexiglas, then we just attached it to it and was wonderful."
The money will be reimbursed by the county, but her office just couldn't wait for it to be installed.
The staff wears gloves when they handle money, and have hand sanitizer stations throughout the office space. Every employee is practicing social distancing by staying in each corner of the room.
"Everybody likes it," Cody said of the safety precautions and new barrier. "People come in and they appreciate it."
The office joins the list of other essential businesses taking similar precautions. Some Publix and Kroger stores installed sneeze guards at cash registers.
The Plexiglas gives another barrier of protection in the courthouse to help them through the spread of coronavirus, but Cody said she can't wait until everything goes back to normal.
She said she plans to keep the Plexiglas up even after the pandemic.