Durham group wants data on COVID-19 testing in jail. ‘Transparency is about trust.’

A Durham community group is pressing the public health department for more transparency about coronavirus testing at the county jail.

There were 29 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the Durham County Detention Center in August, the jail’s second outbreak since the pandemic began.

“These are people’s brothers and sisters and family members and moms and dads,” said Robert Singagliese, co-chair of Durham Congregations, Associations and Neighborhoods. “Let people know on the (county) website, these are the tests that were done and these are the positives and the negatives.”

Durham CAN, a community organizing coalition, sent its third letter asking for comprehensive testing data to public health director Rodney Jenkins on Aug. 26 and made the letter public in a news release Thursday. The group sent its first letter May 20 and another on June 30.

The latest appeal comes as county commissioners are scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss the jail’s response to the outbreak, its second. In April, eight detention officers at the jail tested positive for the coronavirus, and one of them died, the Durham County Sheriff’s Office has stated.

“Transparency is about trust,” Singagliese said.

Mass-testing at County Jail

On Tuesday, Sheriff Clarence Birkhead will brief county officials on the jail’s current plan, which includes:

▪ Retesting all those housed in the jail until zero cases are reported.

▪ Retesting all employees that work with the jail.

▪ Beginning to test all detainees transferring from a quarantine pod to the jail’s general population.

▪ Placing those who leave the jail for any reason into a 14-day quarantine.

▪ Requiring a negative test result for all new employees at least seven days prior to first day of work.

▪ Conducting periodic testing of 20 of these workers every two weeks.

On average, 73 people incarcerated at the jail transfer from a quarantine pod to the jail’s general population area a month.

As of Aug. 24, the jail has tested 294 detainees, according to a briefing document for Tuesday meeting.

Everyone at the jail who tested positive for COVID-19 is now negative, according to recent test results, said AnnMarie Breen, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.

The jail ended their quarantine Aug. 29, Breen said.

Transparency and trust

In an interview, Singagliese said he is pleased mass-testing will happen and happy to hear the discussion will include data on the total number of tests done so far.

But he thinks the numbers should be posted on the county’s website, readily available to the public.

The county’s data hub currently links to a document showing new coronavirus outbreaks throughout the state in congregate living facilities, like nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and jails. The list is updated twice a week by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and shows positive tests only.

After two weeks of no new cases, the state department removes the data from its website.

Singagliese wonders why Durham County doesn’t include data on all test results on its website like the state’s Department of Public Safety does, for its prisons.

“We just didn’t think that it was an unreasonable ask,” he said.

Durham County’s district attorney has worked to reduce the jail’s population before and during the pandemic, The News & Observer has reported. The jail is currently at about one-third of its capacity of 736.

Unlike in state prisons, most people incarcerated in county jails haven’t been convicted of crime. They typically can’t afford bail and are awaiting a court hearing.

“The virus got into the jail, and that is incredibly sad,” Singagliese said. “That vulnerable population, they can’t leave. They can’t protect themselves.”

Jenkins confirmed he received the three letters from Durham CAN, in an email to The N&O.

The data hub doesn’t show negative test results because the state doesn’t require testing sites to share that information with his department, he said.

The Board of County Commissioners meeting, where the sheriff will brief officials about testing, is at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The public can see the agenda and watch the meeting when the streaming link becomes available on the county’s website. The meeting will also stream on the Durham County’s official YouTube channel.

This story was originally published September 7, 2020 at 5:50 AM.