Both the Seattle Municipal Court and The Seattle City Attorney’s Office announced today that they will be closed to business March 16 through 20 due to employees testing positive for COVID-19.
The Municipal Court issued a General Administrative Order closing the court . It specifies that in-custody arraignment cases will be held electronically or telephonically, while other cases will be rescheduled after the closure. The court had already ordered a limit closure until April 12, and according to the new order, that limited closure will be reinstated upon the conclusion of the one-week full closure to clean and disinfect the building.
In a similar fashion, the City Attorney’s Office announced that its closure was also driven by an employee testing positive, and the offices will be cleaned and disinfected. From the press release:
The employee was diagnosed on Saturday, March 14, and hasn’t been in the office since Monday, March 9. Staff are working with Columbia Tower building management to implement office disinfection procedures. Staff the employee engaged with directly prior to exhibiting symptoms have been notified.
“Our team member asked me to report they’re already on their way to a healthy recovery, and I couldn’t be more grateful,” said Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes. “Out of an abundance of caution, I will be tested on Monday and have been telecommuting since our employee reported symptoms. I’m not exhibiting any symptoms myself, but I was in reoccurring contact with the employee in the days prior to his absence.”
Members of the public needing to contact attorneys or staff can email using the template: FirstName.LastName@seattle.gov, or call the main office phone number at (206) 684-8200 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, leaving a voicemail if the phone is not immediately answered. For mail deliveries, contact the City Attorney’s Office Administrator, Candice Foote, at (206) 247-0851 for additional information.
We can expect more announcements like these in the days to come.