MACON, Ga. — The Bibb County Superior Court Clerk's Office has been closed off and on from the public since March. It's partially due to confirmed COVID-19 cases in the courthouse.
"I mean, the courthouse really seems it's like a ghost town, at least that's what I hear," said Erica Woodford, Superior Court Clerk.
Woodford has been out of the office since July 2. She says there are at least six confirmed cases of COVID-19 throughout the Bibb County Courthouse, including herself.
"We're operating as most offices in the courthouse with a skeleton crew," Woodford said.
Back on July 2, Woodford says she was made aware that someone in her office had tested positive. Woodford says she immediately shut down the office. A couple days later, she decided to get tested, and it came back positive.
"I was experiencing nausea, stomach aches, a slight headache, light pressure in my chest, and a low grade fever, and lots of fatigue," Woodford said.
However, this wasn't her first go-around with COVID-19. Back in late March, she was diagnosed, and the symptoms were much different.
"I had a very high fever, about 101.9 or 102, somewhere in that area. I had a lot of pressure in my chest and felt a little difficult to breathe," Woodford said.
She says between the two cases, she's learned a lot.
"Other than the fact that you can't get it twice, what I've learned is that, you know, a lot of people don't even understand -- 1, the seriousness and importance of wearing masks, and second, they don't know how to properly wear a mask," Woodford said.
Now, she's joining the many county public officials, encouraging people to wear their mask and wear it right.
"If you have your mask, you need to cover your nose and your mouth," Woodford said. "If it's just covering your mouth, that's not helpful. If you're wearing it like a chin strap, obviously that's not helping," Woodford explained, demonstrating how to wear a mask properly.
She says if everyone follows these precautions, hopefully, we'll get out of this pandemic sooner rather than later.
"I would just ask that you all please, please, please, think about your neighbor, think about yourself, think about your loved ones, your mom, your dad, your small grandchildren, think about the people you care about, because COVID-19 is real. This is a real problem," Woodford said.
Woodford says she's still teleworking but says she hopes to return to work next week if she gets a negative test result.