Greene County is preparing to open the courthouse in Jefferson to the public following COVID-19 concerns, but it may not happen as quickly as first thought.

Greene County Supervisor Chair John Muir says the original date to open the courthouse was tentatively set for next Monday, May 18th, but that date has been pushed back to June 2nd.

“The reason for that was it gives us a couple of more weeks of our comfort zone that we’re providing services and we’re protecting the safety of the people in the courthouse and the public that would be coming in and out. Also that date we’ve moved beyond the (June) primary election, so if there’s people that would come to the courthouse to vote we aren’t getting them with a group of people coming in for licenses or things like that.”

Muir adds, Greene County Public Health Director Becky Wolf will be doing a “walk-through” of the courthouse to determine areas where the Centers for Disease Control and public health guidelines and recommendations for social distancing can happen to continue to keep people safe and prevent spreading the virus. Muir hinted at possibly doing scheduled appointments as the initial way the public can start to re-enter the courthouse.