Chattanooga temporarily closes public access to municipal buildings

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – City officials are again restricting public access to municipal buildings starting at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

It comes as Hamilton County is seeing its third highest day in new coronavirus cases.

“Wear your mask and keep your distance and wash your hands and keep yourself safe and healthy,” Hamilton County Health Officer Dr. Paul Hendricks said.

On Thursday, the county reported 165 new cases.

Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke checked in on one of his weekly Facebook lives Thursday, and while his focus was on the presidential election, he did mention coronavirus as an ongoing issue that needs to be resolved even after the election is over.

“Here in Chattanooga we continue to see far to many people being diagnosed with coronavirus,” Mayor Berke said.

The Mayor did not mention the city building closures, but a press release said that “the city is taking steps to reduce person-to-person contact in order to protect residents and employees.”

Public access will be temporarily suspended at City Hall, City Annex and city services at the Development Resource Center.

The press release said that city employees have not been “immune” to COVID and said that aside from city court and wood recycling center cases, city employees that have contracted COVID pose no risk to the public.

All services will continue to be provided, but according to the city “unforseen outbreak or more positive case among city employees could cause” disruptions.

The city is urging residents to do business with the city online or over the phone.

Currently, there is no specific date on when the buildings will reopen to the public.