Several local government offices in Centre County closing due to COVID-19 pandemic
Several local government offices in Bellefonte and Ferguson Township have closed — or are now partially closed — due to the worsening COVID-19 pandemic, according to news releases and community announcements.
Among them:
- Centre County Courthouse: It was announced Tuesday that the courthouse will remain open only for emergency matters — such as protection-from-abuse orders and emergency custody matters — through Dec. 11. All other court proceedings will be conducted remotely, or delayed if remote communication is not possible. “The Centre County Court of Common Pleas has continued to monitor developments related to COVID-19 and its impact on the county judicial system,” the court administration wrote in a news release. “In addition, the Court has continued to communicate with state and county officials, as well as monitor information provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH). Within the past weeks, we have seen a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases within Centre County, as well as the surrounding counties.”
- Bellefonte Borough Office: The borough issued a release on its website Wednesday that the offices are closed indefinitely after Gov. Tom Wolf asked for all employees to telework, if possible. That means the lobby to the second-floor offices and to the police station is closed. Phones will still be answered remotely and, right now, there are no changes to any operations such as policing, water, sewer, streets, refuse collection and leaf collection. The borough can still be reached during Monday-to-Friday business hours, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 355-1501. Non-emergencies after hours can call 1-800-479-0050.
- Ferguson Township Municipal Building: The township announced Monday that its offices would be closed for public access starting on Thanksgiving and extending until an unknown time. (An update will be provided by Dec. 10.) The police department lobby will remain open during regular hours, however, and the department will continue to answer all emergency and non-emergency calls. Staff can also still be contacted via email or at 238-4651 during regular business hours.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, there have been more than 1,500 new cases of COVID-19 in Centre County just this month. By comparison, there were just 392 cases from March 20 through mid-August.
Many experts and government officials expect the pandemic to worsen with dropping temperatures and holiday gatherings. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), from the University of Washington, projects that Pennsylvania will exhaust its remaining ICU beds well before Christmas.
Mount Nittany Medical Center had a pandemic-high 32 simultaneous COVID-19 hospitalizations Friday. According to the state’s hospital preparedness dashboard, the hospital now has fewer than five available adult ICU beds. There have also been 30 COVID-19 deaths so far this month, as confirmed by the county coroner, compared to 18 such deaths between March and October.
