Emergency order issued to close Athens-Clarke County Courthouse due to bedbugs

The Athens-Clarke County Courthouse is closed until July 29, while the 325 E. Washington St. facility is being treated for bed bugs. The courthouse was closed on Monday when Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Chief Judge Lisa Lott issued a judicial emergency order.

“Due to the number of visitors and employees who visit the Courthouse daily, the source of the bed bugs is not known,” the county government noted in a news release announcing the emergency order. Bed bugs are small non-flying parasitic insects usually transported from place to place as people travel.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, bed bugs are not known to transmit disease, but some people may be allergic to their bites.

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“Bed bugs have been found in five-star hotels and resorts and their presence is not determined by the cleanliness of the living conditions where they are found,” the county government noted in its news release.

Lott’s order, covering both the judicial and non-judicial offices in the courthouse, came after the county government’s Central Services Department was made aware of the possible presence of bed bugs in some areas of the building. A pest control company subsequently confirmed that bed bugs were in the building, and the Central Services Department recommended that Lott issue the order closing the downtown Athens facility.

The closure will provide time for the multiple-day process needed to treat the courthouse, according to the Monday news release from the county government. Although bed bugs were only found in parts of three levels of the courthouse, the needed treatment requires addressing the entire building, according to the news release.

In addition to Superior Court, Municipal Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, Juvenile Court, State Court, and the Clerk of Superior and State Court, the District Attorney’s Office and the Solicitor General’s Office, the closure will affect the courthouse presence of the Sheriff’s Office, the Tax Assessors Office, the Tax Commissioner’s Office, and the Central Services Records and Mail Room.

The courthouse parking deck will remain open, according to the county news release.

Emergency contact information for all offices will be posted at the courthouse entrance while the building is being treated for bedbugs. Additionally, information about contacting individual offices is available online at www.accgov.com/8/Departments .

Once the courthouse is reopened, additional entry measures, not specified in the county news release, may be required for employees and visitors.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Emergency order issued to close Athens-Clarke County Courthouse due to bedbugs