Henry County government got back to work Monday with employees wearing face masks, submitting to temperatures checks and sitting solo in offices to reduce the risk of the coronavirus being transmitted unknowingly by an asymptomatic worker.
After almost two months of telecommuting, some of the employees running finance, community services, purchasing and other departments, were back at their desks.
Only half of the staff worked Monday as Henry broke employees into two groups — ones who work on odd-numbered days and ones at work on even-numbered days, the county said.
Despite the staff return, government buildings will remain closed, as well as parks, senior centers and recreational facilities, the county said.
“The decision to stagger staff was so that we could maintain social distancing,” said county spokeswoman Melissa Robinson. “It was about gauging how we could bring staff back safely.”
Henry is one of the first metro Atlanta governments to return to work during the pandemic. Gwinnett County Schools has summoned some of its staff back to work on-site starting Wednesday and Clayton County's government has set May 11 as a tentative date for its employees to physically return to work.
Emory University Labor economist Tom Smith said there are pros and cons to trying to resume normal operations. Services that might have shut down when staff were scattered can now get back up and running. Sensitive duties such as payroll and insurance benefits are moved back to government offices where Internet firewalls are generally stronger.
But because it’s a slow rollout, residents shouldn’t set their expectations too high. It will take time for county leaders to evaluate whether the effort is working.
“You don’t want to send people out to work but you don’t get the output you desire,” he said. “That doesn’t do anybody any good.”
Workers will not be tested for coronavirus to work, but their temperatures will be taken to get into buildings and they are expected to self-monitor throughout the workday.
Staff meetings will continue to be held virtually through Internet software such as Zoom, even if employees are just across the hall from one another, Robinson said. The county also has a rigorous cleaning schedule to wipe down surfaces several times a day.
Henry Commissioner Dee Clemmons said she wants to the county to issue face masks to make sure anyone who doesn’t have one can get one.
She also said accommodations should be made for workers who may be too frightened to return because of safety concerns.
“Based on their personal situations, we will work with them to make sure that if they are not comfortable that they don’t have to come back to work,” Clemmons said. “I support what is fair to our employees.”
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