Wake County reports COVID-19 outbreaks at both jails
Wake County reported COVID-19 outbreaks Wednesday at both the Wake County Detention Center and Wake County Public Safety Center.
Two detainees and four staff members of the detention center on Hammond Road and 14 detainees at the public safety center on Salisbury Street downtown have COVID-19, said Eric Curry, spokesperson for the Wake County Sheriff’s Office.
Wake County Public Health confirmed the outbreaks in a Wednesday afternoon press release.
This is the fourth COVID-19 outbreak at the detention center. Previous outbreaks occurred in August 2021, July 2021 and August 2020. The center currently has 915 detainees.
It’s the second outbreak at the downtown jail The last outbreak there was in December 2020. It houses 318 detainees.
The two facilities have more than 1,500 beds and employ more than 400 full and part-time staff, The News & Observer previously reported.
All inmates are pre-screened for COVID-19 and those who are vaccinated and have no symptoms are allowed into the general jail population while those who are not vaccinated are placed in a single cell for a 14-day quarantine, according to Curry.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services defines an outbreak as two or more people testing positive for the coronavirus.
