The Pickway County Health Department has forced a local business to close amid COVID-19 orders from the Governor.
“We have been getting a lot of complaints,” said Sam Neill with the Pickaway County Department of Heath. Neill said that deputies had to accompany health inspectors to one local gaming business who refused to close.
“That business was kind of giving us resistance, and they said, ‘we do understand the order, and in this manner, we are not going to close until law enforcement gets involved,” Neill told the Guardian. “We had a deputy come out with us and we went to make the enforcement.”
Neill did not name the business other than to say it was “a gaming business.”
He said that if the health department receives a complaint, they will send out a sanitation worker to speak on behalf of the health department and to investigate. If they are deemed essential, Neill said the business must stilk take precautions.
“We explain to them that, ‘hey, make sure you’re doing social distancing and washing hands, and wiping down two times a day.'”
In Fayette County, deputy health commissioner Leigh Cannon said they have not had to force any businesses to close, yet, but that her office is taking compliance very seriously.
“Our office has received complaints all week. We have been taking each complaint — roughly 15 total; they keep coming in daily — and reviewing the complaint with the county prosecutor,” Cannon said. “We then send a letter deeming them an essential business or non-essential business according to the order. Included in the letter is instructions accordingly on how to follow the social distancing order as this applies to everyone. Our office will then do compliance checks if complaints continue to arise with the assistance of the police and Sheriff’s office.”
In Highland County, similar measures are taking place.
“We have fielded numerous calls addressing the essential business sections of the mandates,” said county spokesman Brandon Jackman. “We have not tracked, nor will be start to track the numbers of calls fielded or businesses we have spoken with. All conversations we’ve had have been civil and professional. We have had no cases where compliance was forced.”
The “shutdown” order remains in effect until at least April 6.