photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World File Photo

The Douglas County Courthouse is pictured in September 2018.

Douglas County has reopened most of its facilities to the public, but county officials have asked residents to follow protective guidelines when visiting.

On Monday, the county reopened all of its facilities to the public except its treasurer’s office locations, which will remain closed to walk-in traffic, according to a recent county news release. The facilities had been closed to the public since March as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.

While the facilities are now open, the county has asked visitors to wear face coverings and maintain at least 6 feet of distance between county employees and others in the buildings. County departments and officials may use additional screening tools when meeting with visitors, depending on the service provided, according to the news release.

Karrey Britt, a spokeswoman for the county, said the treasurer’s office locations remain closed to the public because of the state’s order allowing a maximum gathering of 10 people and that it is difficult for the county to control the number of visitors at the treasurer’s office locations.

The county facilities had been closed for about two months to help slow the spread of COVID-19. During that time, many of the county offices continued to operate through online resources, on the phone or through the mail, which will continue to be available.

“We continue to encourage people to use online services when possible to help protect employees and the community from COVID-19,” County Administrator Sarah Plinsky said in the news release. “Our community has done a great job of following public health guidelines and we hope that continues.”

Many of the services provided through the offices of the county’s appraiser, clerk, treasurer and register of deeds — such as paying taxes, searching real estate records and applying for fishing and hunting licenses, among other things — can be done online, on the phone or through mail. Detailed ways to pay taxes or access county services are listed in a post on the Douglas County website, douglascountyks.org.