LORAIN, OHio — Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley has ordered city hall to be closed to the public effective immediately following a Lorain police officer’s positive coronavirus diagnosis. He has also implemented several other “countermeasures” to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Lorain.
The mayor said he learned about the officer on Sunday. According to Bradley, the decision was made to close down city hall since the officer was active in several locations on various floors.
Other measures:
- The utilities office has also been closed and “will only be accepting payments online and through the drop off box located on the exterior of the buildings.” Additionally, the mayor said he has waived all late payment penalties for the March billing period.
- The Building Housing and Planning Department has ceased interior inspections of buildings in Lorain except for some limited exceptions. Exterior inspections are still taking place.
- The city’s IT department is working on a way for city employees to work from home in the event they need to self-quarantine.
- The mayor states that he is working with city council members to ensure that anyone affected by the virus will have access to paid leave.
- The utilities department is working to restore service to people who had their water disconnected so that residents can “practice good hygiene” to prevent community spread.
- The treasurer’s office has been closed to the public and will now only accept tax returns through the mail or the drop box at the front entrance.
- The Lorain Municipal Court has also been closed. Residents who hand a civil, traffic or criminal case will have their case rescheduled. Eviction proceedings are also being rescheduled. If you have a case pending, you can CLICK HERE to see when it was moved to. You can also email the court, here.
Bradley issued the following statement:
“It is important to me that our employees have access to paid leave to weather the storm of the COVID-19 crisis. The governor has ordered schools to shut down and he may also order day-care facilities to shut down as well. This puts an incredible strain on our workforce, and I want to ensure them that they will be taken care of in the event that they need to stay home and care for their children. While the CDC has said that children are not at a higher risk for COVID-19, our seniors are. I know that many of our workers rely on grandparents to look after children and our elderly are the most vulnerable. So again, in order to prevent the spread of this virus, I want to make the resources available to our workers so that they can look after their children and insulate our seniors from additional exposure.”
