Public safety officials said Wednesday the coronavirus has made its way into the county jail.
Four inmates at the Johnson County jail tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. These are the first confirmed cases at the jail, and several inmates and employees have been tested since the pandemic began, sheriff Duane Burgess said.
The inmates were tested after showing symptoms of the virus, and all four were quarantined when the tests came back positive, Burgess said.
The four inmates were in cells with other people, so the blocks where they lived have been isolated. No one is allowed to enter or leave. Those possibly exposed to the virus are being monitored, Burgess said.
Preventing the spread of the virus when inmates have to live in close quarters is difficult, Burgess said.
“Unfortunately, social distancing is very difficult in the jail,” he said.
Since the pandemic started in March, the sheriff’s office has taken steps to prevent the spread of the virus at the jail and continues to work closely with the Johnson County Health Department, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
Precautions included giving all inmates surgical masks to protect themselves, cleaning cell blocks and individual cells more often and placing potentially infected inmates in quarantine. Additionally, county judges have ordered early release of some inmates, which has made the number of inmates more manageable, the news release said.
“We watched it (the virus) and we’ve tried diligently to keep it out of the facility, but it’s extremely hard,” Burgess said.
The jail will continue to take the precautions they set in place to protect other inmates, employees and their families, according to the news release.
