District Attorney Steve Crump in Cleveland reported a coronavirus case in his office.
He said, "Fear is a liar. Don’t believe him.
"Despite our best efforts, COVID-19 found its way into my office last week.
Within a week, 8 members of my staff were exposed to the virus. Most were negative. One is now confirmed positive. This staff member was not exposed at work, didn’t expose any other staff members and is doing well so far. One more has not received their results. All have worked from home while awaiting their results.
"We are doing everything we can to keep the office and the public safe. We are following the guidelines, we are washing our hands, using hand sanitizer, wearing masks in court as ordered, and we are limiting our contact with the public until all staff are cleared to protect the public from us exposing them. We have asked vulnerable members of the staff to work from home.
"What we are NOT doing is panicking. This is a time for calm. This disease has killed those who are vulnerable to it. But the percentage of deaths and hospitalizations is dropping. Maybe the increasing number of cases is from people being out and together. Maybe the numbers are from increased testing. Maybe both. No one really knows. Fear tells us we should shrink back, lock ourselves away and just wait for “all this to pass.” However, we should not cower to this disease or fear. We will report for work. We will continue to serve the public. We will keep our side of the docket moving and do our jobs. We will keep living our lives.
"I am incredibly proud of my staff as they have handled this last turn of events with the same professionalism and dedication that they shown throughout this whole pandemic. We will continue to be cautious and safe...but not fearful.
"Fear is a liar. We don’t believe him."