Orange County closes offices after employee tests positive

Orange County offices will be closed starting Monday April 6, according to county information. The closure and possibility for reopening will be evaluated weekly moving forward.

"An employee of Orange County has tested positive for COVID-19," reads the release. "Public Health is doing an investigation of the buildings that the employee may have entered. Once these buildings are identified, they will be professionally disinfected."

The closure comes after an employee of the Orange County Sheriff's Office tested positive, leading to a number of employees to self-quarantinee.

OCSO announced, "The Orange County Sheriff's Office late on Friday, April 3, 2020 was notified that an employee had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus by the Southeast Texas Emergency Operations Center.
"In an abundance of caution and according to the guidelines of the Center for Disease Control, a number of employees were notified of the positive result and were told to self-quarantine at home. This was done to protect the citizens of Orange County and the employees who had not come into contact with the infected individual. The self-quarantine will last for 14 days as per the recommendation of the CDC.
"Sheriff Keith Merritt wants the public to know that the Sheriff’s Office is still continuing to run effectively and efficiently during this time. We will serve the needs of the citizens during this trying time and provide law enforcement services to the County of Orange. Protection of our citizens and employees are and will be our number one concern."