August 2020
Guidance for schools and resources added for testing and disease investigation
(August 4) Johnson County opened 167 polling locations staffed by more than 800 election workers for the primary election. The Election Office took numerous safety precautions to protect voters and election workers on Election Day. They deployed new ballot scanners to simplify the voting process, and explained the concept of “mark, verify, scan” in this video.
(August 7) Johnson County announced a new survey to help make decisions on how to allocate approximately $30 million in COVID Relief Funds to six key areas in the community.
- Mental Health
- Aging
- Housing
- Small business assistance
- Workforce development
- Digital access
(August 17) JCDHE expanded its appointment-based drive-thru testing to include evening hours two days a week.
(August 18) Johnson County public health officials and school district leaders met to review the most recent science and data regarding the spread of COVID-19 infections within the county. School districts used this information as a guideline to make decisions for each of their districts regarding the safest learning mode to begin the 2020-2021 school year. The six superintendents were all in agreement that the requested criteria were intended to help them reduce and manage risks to district families, teachers, staff and the entire community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(August 27) The Johnson County Board of County Commissioners increased the county’s testing and disease investigation capacity by authorizing $800,000 for temporary workers to assist with contact tracing and case investigation, and $200,000 for COVID-19 testing supplies and processing services.
(August 28) Five Johnson County Park and Recreation District facilities announced the hosting of JCPRD Learning Hubs to provide in-person places for students in grades one through eight to safely learn and enjoy enrichment experiences as school reopening plans continued to fluctuate in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. With safety protocols and limited enrollment, these five sites accommodated a combined total of 85 students per week.