By Bill Raack, St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis, MO – St. Louis Circuit Court officials are taking precautions against a possible flu outbreak this fall.
Changes are being made for jurors in order to reduce the number of people who might spread the illness. Court spokesman Matt Murphy says they plan to stagger the jury pool.
"Normally on Monday mornings, we bring in between four and five hundred jurors. This flu season, we're going to stagger that - bring half in in the morning and half in in the afternoon. The reason for that is to cut down on the large number of people congregated in the same room at the same time," Murphy said.
Murphy says if you're called for jury duty but you have the flu, don't ignore the summons. He suggests calling the court to discuss rescheduling for a later date.
"I don't anybody really knows how bad it's going to be but we felt like these were some simple steps that we could take in preparation for that, if it's as bad as some experts think it might be."
Cleaning crews have been told to regularly disinfect phones, door knobs, elevator buttons and other items that are in frequent contact with the public.