‘Our worst fear’: Durham jail has 2nd COVID-19 outbreak after 8 inmates test positive
Eight inmates at the Durham County jail tested positive for COVID-19 this weekend, the second outbreak at the jail where eight detention officers tested positive this spring and one later died.
“Our worst fear has come true inside the facility, and we are taking immediate and corrective steps to get in front of it,” Sheriff Clarence Birkhead said in a news release.
Jail staff first noticed possible COVID-19 symptoms in an inmate Friday, Aug 7, said AnnMarie Breen, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office. The inmate was tested, and the result came back positive Saturday.
Nine other people were in the pod, or unit, with the infected person. They were tested Saturday, with results on Sunday showing seven were infected, she said.
All of the infected inmates have been isolated.
People who test positive are kept in an isolation pod, where they remain in their individual cells unless they need to make a phone call or talk to their attorney.
Wider testing started Sunday, with results expected back Monday and Tuesday, Breen said. She didn’t know the total number of people tested, but said it included all inmates and staff members who were in the jail after July 13.
Before the most recent cases were discovered, testing was done if inmates or staff members met the criteria set by the state and county health departments, she said.
“We have consistently reviewed our protocols and adjusted them based on new information and science throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so,” Breen said.
Birkhead has been working with community organizations, county staff and the Board of County Commissioners to increase testing at the jail, Breen said.
County commissioners are tentatively scheduled to discuss funding a jail testing program Aug. 24
Outbreaks have been reported at 16 other county jails across the state, according to an N. C. Department of Health and Human Services report.
Unlike in state prisons, most of the people in county jails haven’t been convicted of a crime and are in jail because they cannot afford bail pending a court hearing.
Durham County and court officials have worked to reduce the jail population before and during the pandemic.
In February, there was an average daily jail population of 395. In July, it was 240.
As of Monday, there were 6,200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Durham County and 49 deaths, according to the state health department.
Orange County jail outbreak
North Carolina jail outbreaks, which the state defines as two or more people testing positive, range from two cases at several jails to 60 cases at the Mecklenburg County jail. Four inmates have tested positive at the Orange County jail in Hillsborough.
An Orange County Detention Center employee had symptoms July 17, said Alicia Stemper, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office.
The test came back positive July 20. Two other members of his shift later tested positive. All inmates were tested July 23 and then again July 31, Stemper said. One inmate who had transferred into the jail July 20 tested positive.
The inmate didn’t overlap with the original staffer who tested positive, Stemper said. The inmate was transferred into the jail 45 minutes after the squad of the first staff member who tested positive was sent home.
Orange County has had a total of 1,348 confirmed coronavirus cases and 47 deaths, as of Monday at noon, according to the Orange County Health Department.
This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 9:48 AM.
