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Although his original weekly update was moved to Tuesday night in lieu of Memorial Day, Harlan County Judge-Executive took to Facebook late Friday evening to give locals another update on COVID-19 in the county. Mosley also addressed the county’s plans for handling the June primary election, adding the only available precinct for in-person voting on June 23 will be the Harlan County Courthouse.

“At this time, we’ve had only the one confirmed case of COVID-19 in Harlan County — the 26-year-old male who works out of state and was tested out of state,” he said. “We have received 149 additional negative results since Monday’s update (May18). We have 43 tests that are presently pending.”

The Harlan County Courthouse is now open to the public as of Tuesday morning.

The public is asked to enter the building by using the entrance on the 2nd Street side of the courthouse or the ground floor handicap entrance at the rear of the facility. Anyone who enters the building will exit on the 1st street side of the building or through the ground floor door at the rear of the facility. The 1st street side of the facility will be used only as an exit at this time.

“The front doors of the building will remain closed,” Mosley said. “This effort will help social distancing in the facility. There is also a waiting area to comply with social distancing guidelines set by the CDC and state in the main lobby, for the county clerk’s office.”

Citizens entering county facilities are encouraged to wear a mask and must practice social distancing guidelines while in the facilities. Mobile hand sanitizing stations are available at all county-owned facilities, including a station with multiple sanitizers in the lobby of the courthouse.

“Harlan County Clerk Donna Hoskins announced this week that the only precinct to vote at on June 23 will be the Harlan County Courthouse,” Mosley said. “Democrat Governor Andy Beshear and Republican Secretary of State Michael G. Adams are encouraging voters to request a mail ballot so that you can vote from home and mail it in.”

Mosley said the postage for the ballots is already paid, so locals do not have to pay for postage in order to mail their ballots in. Mail ballot requests must be made by 11:59 p.m. on June 15 in order to vote by mail in the June 23 election.

To request a mail ballot, go to www.govoteky.com.

Individuals who would prefer to vote in person are instructed to call the Harlan County Clerk’s Office at 606-573-3636 to learn about voting early at the courthouse between June 8 and June 22, before the June 23 primary election.

Mosley also gave a brief update on the self-response rate across Harlan County for the 2020 Census, noting Harlan was at 14 percent roughly eight weeks ago and is now at 31.7 percent overall.

“We’ve finally changed from burnt orange to light orange on the census map! Help us get out of that Tennessee orange as quickly as possible by encouraging others to complete their census. Below is an update on our cities and magisterial district self response rates:”

Cities

• Benham: 23.3 percent
• Cumberland: 41.1 percent
• Evarts: 22.3 percent
• Harlan: 52.3 percent
• Loyall: 12.7 percent
• Lynch: 28.6 percent

Districts

• District 1: 36 percent
• District 2: 27.35 percent
• District 3: 36.25 percent
• District 4: 38.75 percent
• District 5: 20.75 percent

“The state self response rate is currently 63.7 percent. Our response rate is still behind counties that touch us, including Bell, Letcher and Perry,” Mosley said.

“Please take just a few minutes to do this. Help a family member do theirs if you’ve already done yours. Call them and help them through the process. It’s so important that an accurate count is done and that’s where you come into play as well, just like in the fight against this coronavirus.”

Visit www.2020census.gov for more information or to complete your questionnaire online. Call 1-844-330-2020 to complete the 2020 Census over the phone.