The Wake County Sheriff’s Office has asked 11 staff members to self-isolate out of concern they or a spouse may have been exposed to COVID-19.

The people who have been asked to stay at home and limit contact with other people are five deputies, five detention officers and one 911 operator.

Some were showing flu-like symptoms. Others have spouses who are health-care workers who were exposed to people who were showing symptoms consistent with coronavirus and were asked to self-isolate, forcing their spouses to stay at home too.

Symptoms for the coronavirus include a cough, fever and aches. These are similar to symptoms of the flu.

The Sheriff’s Office has roughly 400 deputies, 500 detention officers and 15 to 20 911 operators on staff, spokesman Eric Curry said.

“Because school is out, we have enough deputies to cover,” he said. The Sheriff’s Office provides schools with School Resource Officers for security when schools are in session.

The staff members will not be able to work from home, but will continue to be paid, using banked sick leave.

Wake County Jail

The Sheriff’s Office is taking precautions in the jail. Since last week, people who are arrested are screened and placed in a cell away from the general population for 14 days, unless they bond out.

The Sheriff’s Office is also working with the courts to ensure that people with low bonds for non-violent offenses can be released, Sheriff Gerald Baker said Tuesday.

The Wake County Detention Center also has four negative pressure rooms, which can house infected inmates while preventing the spread of the virus into the facility’s main ventilation system.

This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 3:26 PM.