DANVILLE, Va. – The Danville General District Court Clerk’s Office will be on a reduced schedule Friday after an employee tested positive for Covid-19.

The office was closed Thursday and a deep cleaning was done of both the courtroom and the clerk’s office. Both are scheduled to reopen Friday at the regular time; however, the General District Clerk’s Office will close at noon on Friday due to manpower constraints. The General District Courtroom will remain open throughout the day on Friday.

All remaining courts and clerk’s offices are operating on a regular schedule.

Meanwhile, there is encouraging news on the vaccine front. AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine shows a hint that it may reduce transmission of the virus and offers strong protection for three months on just a single dose, researchers said Wednesday in an encouraging turn in the campaign to suppress the outbreak.

The preliminary findings from Oxford University, a co-developer of the vaccine, could vindicate the British government’s controversial strategy of delaying the second shot for up to 12 weeks so that more people can be quickly given a first dose. Up to now, the recommended time between doses has been four weeks.

The research could also bring scientists closer to an answer to one of the big questions about the vaccination drive: Will the vaccines actually curb the spread of the coronavirus?