OGDEN, Utah, July 11, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Mass COVID-19 testing at the Weber County jail on Monday has revealed 31 more inmates who are positive for the virus, bringing the total of those infected to 114 cases, a statement released Friday says.
In Monday’s test, 167 inmates and 27 staff members were tested for the virus. All staff members returned negative test results, the Weber County Sheriff’s Office statement says.
“In total, we have conducted 390 tests, and have 11 tests pending results; 89% of our positive cases remain asymptomatic. Since our first positive case was discovered on June 21, 2020, we have taken extreme measures to identify, test, isolate, and quarantine individuals at our facility to contain the community spread within the jail.”
As of Friday, the population at the 12th Street facility was 590, the statement says. The capacity of the 12th street facility is 888. The population of the Kiesel facility was 54. The capacity of the Kiesel facility is 260.
“This reduction in population was done to create more space for isolation and quarantine areas within the jail to help alleviate spread,” the WCSO statement says. “This was accomplished mostly by attrition and more stringent intake procedures.”
Masks are mandatory for all staff, visitors, and contractors, the statement says. Masks are provided to and highly encouraged to be worn by the inmates. No force is being used to gain inmate compliance with wearing masks.
In April, information from the CDC was posted in all areas of the jail encouraging social distancing, proper hygiene, COVID-19 symptoms, and prevention measures. This information was posted in English and Spanish, the statement says.
“We increased soap and cleaning supplies available to the inmates, and increased general cleaning and sanitation facility-wide.
“Our top priority is the health and safety of both our inmates and employees. Inmates that have tested positive are being isolated into single cells as much as possible and where not possible are being quarantined together with other positives. Our medical staff monitors these individuals daily. Individuals that are positive and those that are symptomatic or have had a known exposure are being evaluated daily by medical staff for symptoms.
“As inmates are released, our medical staff provides them with COVID educational information. We are also working with the health department and other community partners as we release inmates in an effort to limit spread to our community.”
