INGHAM COUNTY, MI (WSYM) - — The Ingham County Jail says eight of its inmates have tested positive for COVID-19.
Back on Friday, June 19, the Ingham County Jail said a civilian jail kitchen worker didn't feel well. The jail said she didn't have a fever when she came to work, but she did leave early and was tested for COVID-19.
On the same day, the jail said it had two additional inmate workers from Post 10 say they didn't feel well and were transferred to medical where they were tested for COVID-19.
On Monday, June 22, the jail said the civilian contract kitchen employee said she had tested positive for COVID-19; the kitchen was immediately shut down and Post 10 was quarantined including all dorms.
Ingham County Jail said all Post 10 inmates, 30 in total, were tested for COVID-19 in addition to civilian contract employees.
The jail said all of the test results came back Wednesday, June 24 revealing a total of eight inmates tested positive for COVID-19 with only one of them being symptomatic.
The eight inmates were taken to the medical department of the jail.
They will remain in quarantine for 14 days.
The inmates who tested negative will also be in quarantine.
Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wrigglesworth said, "Post 10 inmates are going to be quarantined through the weekend. They'll have their temperatures checked everyday, make sure they're asymptomatic, make sure they're not positive for COVID."
Although some of the infected inmates aren't showing symptoms Ingham County health officer Linda Vail said it's best to keep them in quarantine.
She said, "Asymptomatic folks are basically based on the date their tests came in because they have no symptoms we have no date to go back to other than when we know they were positive. So those folks will be 14 days post testing positive to get released from isolation."
The sheriff said the virus most likely came from someone who goes in and out of the facility.
Wrigglesworth said there is protocol in place to keep employees and inmates safe.
He said there is frequent use of personal protective equipment and sanitation.
Vail said new inmates are also monitored for the virus before they are placed with the inmate population.
Vail said, "Anybody coming into the jail goes into a different place for 14 days before they even get incorporated into the regular jail population and gets monitored for those 14 days."
The jail said four civilian employees and 22 inmates tested negative, with one civilian, the kitchen worker, and the eight inmates testing positive.
"The kitchen has been closed since Monday and has been staffed with contract employees from around the state and our deputies," the Ingham County Jail said in a press release. "All food is being made off-site for now in other facilities and (is) being shipped here for all three meals. Additional sanitizing for both kitchen and Post 10 have been occurring regularly."
The Ingham County Jail said it is also in the process of testing all Post 10 employees along with a couple of other specialty positions.
"We continue to work closely with the Ingham County Health Department, who staff jail medical, to mitigate this situation," the jail said in its press release.
