Pulaski County Judge-Executive pointed out that it’s impossible to simply shut down county government.

But that doesn’t mean Kelley isn’t working to ease the burden brought on by the Coronavirus dilemma that has caused closures nationwide.

“We are trying to be sensitive to the needs of our county employees and their families during this global crisis we are experiencing,” Kelley said on Saturday. “The closure of Pulaski County schools puts an unexpected strain on many of our government workers, as they will have to deal with childcare during this time.”

Kelley said the county will go to a “skeleton crew” in most departments over the next two weeks in order to ease the burden and also reduce possible exposure to workers.

“We won’t shut down the government,” Kelley said. “But we will place our focus on high-priority services during the next two weeks.”

Kelley said essential services such as EMS, the Pulaski County Detention Center and Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office will not be affected.

“This mainly will impact courthouse workers, the road department, parks and maintenance,” Kelley said. “The Pulaski County Clerk’s Office and PVA will handle their departments according to their needs and state recommendations.”

Meanwhile, Somerset Mayor Alan Keck said the city parks will remain closed “to ensure public safety and take an opportunity to sanitize appropriately.”

Otherwise, no other departments will be affected, including police, fire, EMS, utilities and sanitation.

“The City of Somerset is taking the Cornoavirus pandemic very seriously. With that said we have services that we provide to our citizens that cannot and should not cease,” Keck stated on Saturday. “We will monitor the spread of this virus and further changes might take place pending the developments in coming days.

“It’s important we take this seriously, but social distancing does not mean shutting down our lives,” Keck added. “Shop local when appropriate, spend extra time with your family and pray for those on the front lines. We will get through this and if we work together, it will be much sooner than later.”