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Recent travelers to states with escalating coronavirus cases will now be denied access to Luzerne County government buildings, officials said.
				The move took effect Thursday afternoon following Gov. Tom Wolf&rsquo;s announcement earlier in the day that Pennsylvania residents who travel to these states will need to quarantine for 14 days upon return: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
				For those seeking entry to county buildings, the sheriff&rsquo;s department is basing its decision on the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said Sheriff Brian Szumski.
				If sheriff deputies and security officers establish someone traveled outside Pennsylvania within the last 14 days, they then look up the state that person visited on the CDC coronavirus <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/index.html#cases" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">data tracker map</a>, Szumski said. To ensure that information reflects current surges, county workers click on the map tab showing cases over the last seven days, he said.
				County employees will attempt to make other arrangements to assist visitors denied entry, such as providing information on how they can access services remotely, Szumski said.
				The move comes as the county is preparing to bring back most furloughed staff and extend the opening of county buildings from 3:30 p.m. to the pre-pandemic 4:30 p.m. &mdash; changes that take effect Monday, officials said.
				The county will continue to limit the number of visitors permitted inside each office at the same time based on social distancing measurements, guided by a chart that logs people coming and going using erasable markers.
				If all boxes for an office are shaded, additional visitors must wait.
				Because occupancy must be monitored at a single location, the south entrance to the courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre will remain closed, Szumski said. All entries will be through the rear basement entrance, where a tent will remain outside to perform screening and house those waiting, he said.
				The county has stopped obtaining no-contact temperature readings due to a decline in county cases but will resume if the county experiences an uptick, Szumski said.
				Visitors must wear a mask and heed floor markings in offices and elevators to keep people spaced apart, he said. Plexiglass screens have been added at public access counters.
				Saying he hopes for the best but plans for the worst, Szumski said most visitors have been compliant and supportive of the protocols.
				A few visitors arrived with no masks but donned ones supplied by the county, he said.
				County Manager C. David Pedri said he will continue monitoring cases here and elsewhere and work with Szumski on adding or relaxing protocols as warranted. He advised visitors to check the reopening alerts at <a href="https://www.luzernecounty.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.luzernecounty.org</a> for procedures in each office.
				Courts
				While non-jury proceedings have been held for weeks, county Court of Common Pleas President Judge Michael T. Vough said jury trials should resume in September, with new accommodations.
				Pools of up to 50 prospective jurors can simultaneously fit in the second-floor jury room at the courthouse to comply with social distancing, he said.
				The main challenge is fitting everyone in a courtroom.
				A standard jury has 12 people with two alternates, but only four jurors can sit in the jury box located close to the judge and witnesses presenting testimony, he said.
				The other jurors will have to sit on one side of the audience seating area, known as the gallery, he said. Because they won&rsquo;t be up close in that arrangement, court officials are adding microphones in witness boxes and ordering closed-circuit, 65-inch televisions that will be wheeled before the jurors in the gallery, he said.
				&ldquo;The jurors will be able to see the facial expressions of those testifying on these televisions,&rdquo; Vough said.
				With one side of the gallery needed for jurors, the number of spectators in attendance will be limited to about eight on the other side, he said.
				&ldquo;So we&rsquo;re losing half of the courtroom,&rdquo; he said.
				Court officials are exploring larger off-site options to accommodate homicide trials and other high-interest jury proceedings that will attract larger crowds, he said.
				Vough said he wants to reassure residents receiving juror summons that the courts are &ldquo;taking every precaution&rdquo; to keep them safe.

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