Some courthouses across Georgia are closing again as employees and judges who had begun restoring court operations have tested positive for COVID-19. 

On Tuesday, Superior Court Chief Judge Brenda Weaver of the Appalachian Judicial Circuit issued an emergency order shutting the courthouses in North Georgia's Gilmer and Fannin counties. Gilmer County Probate Judge Scott Chastain has tested positive for the virus, said Kevin Holder, executive director of the state Council of Probate Court Judges.

Weaver's order said that "a number of courthouse employees" are displaying COVID-19 symptoms, have been tested and are awaiting results. She said she and the chairs of the two county commissions decided it was "no longer feasible" for judicial offices in those courthouses to remain open.