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<p>With 64 COVID-19 cases in the past month among Jasper County’s 297 employees, County leaders have closed administrative offices to public traffic and are again conducting business by phone, email and drop-box.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>The closure is needed to protect the health and well-being of county staff as well as those coming to do business at the county offices.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>Of the 64 cases since July 26 among Jasper County employees, 21 were positive results, 24 were negative but had to quarantine due to exposure, and there are 19 new cases for which test results weren’t available on Monday Aug. 30, Jasper County Human Resources Director Nicole Holt said in a release.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>“We are a small staff to start with, but when we have this many people out sick or in quarantine, it does affect our ability to meet and serve the public face to face,” Holt said. “We apologize for the inconvenience and are hopeful we can re-open to in-person service sometime after Labor Day.&nbsp;</p>
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