By Hailey Konnath

Law360 (November 6, 2020, 9:46 PM EST ) Federal courts in the Southern District of Ohio and the Northern District of Illinois have reported new cases of COVID-19 in their courthouses, according to orders issued by their respective chief justices.

In Ohio, a deputy U.S. marshal working out of the Potter Stewart Courthouse in Cincinnati tested positive Thursday, Chief Judge Algenon L. Marbley said in his order. The chief judge closed the courthouse to the public until Nov. 16 or until another order is issued.

The deputy marshal last worked in the courthouse on Oct. 30 and became symptomatic two evenings later, Judge Marbley said.

"It is understood that while the [deputy marshal] may have visited multiple public areas in Potter Stewart during the week of Oct. 26, 2020, through Oct. 30, 2020, including all floors, the [court security officer] stations, the guard shack and the snack bar, those areas have since been cleaned and disinfected," the chief judge said.

Judge Marbley continued, "The [deputy marshal], however, while infected but asymptomatic, came into contact with court employees throughout Potter Stewart, particularly the court security officers."

All employees who came into contact with the deputy marshal have been ordered to self-quarantine until Nov. 16 and get tested for the virus. All in-court civil and criminal matters, including grand jury proceedings, scheduled between Nov. 6 and Nov. 13 are suspended for the time being, according to Thursday's order.

Meanwhile, in Illinois, a court security officer in the Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago tested positive, according to a letter from Chief Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer issued Tuesday. The security officer was in the building as recently as the previous day, she said.

"I do not like to write these letters any more than you like to receive them," the chief judge said. "In this instance, again, I believe the individual positive test, like the ones I have described in earlier letters, is not a basis for alarm."

Judge Pallmeyer said that while the security officer was assigned to duties in the courthouse lobby, the officer was not assigned to the public lobby screening station. The lobby is cleaned throughout the day, with high-contact areas getting multiple cleanings, she said. The U.S. General Services Administration has been asked to clean those areas again, according to her letter. The courthouse hasn't been closed.

The chief judge said the positive case is "one more reminder of the need for continued vigilant enforcement of our rules."

"Please continue to monitor yourselves for symptoms associated with COVID-19," Judge Pallmeyer said.

In September, the GSA's Office of Inspector General said COVID-19 response procedures undertaken at public buildings the agency oversees, including federal courthouses, could lead to increased exposure to and transmission of the virus. The GSA's Public Building Service didn't always receive timely notices of COVID-19 cases from its building occupants and didn't always provide timely notification of such cases, the OIG audit found.

"In addition, because PBS does not have a standard inspection process for COVID-19 cleaning and disinfection services, it does not have assurance that contractors are cleaning and disinfecting space in accordance with PBS and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance," the audit said.

Courthouses around the country have closed and reopened since the pandemic ramped up in March, with many shutting back down as cases continue to rise. In August, the Central District of California, the most populous federal judicial district in the nation, announced that it is mostly closing its courthouses again to the public and that jury trials will continue to be postponed due to the surge of COVID-19 cases in the region.

--Additional reporting by Dave Simpson and Craig Clough. Editing by Bruce Goldman.

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