The Monroe County Sheriff's Office says it's been able to hold down the number of coronavirus cases in the county jail, following a surge in cases that began on Thanksgiving evening. The sheriff's office says the entire staff and inmate population at the jail has been tested weekly, and there have been zero cases in the general jail population over the past three weeks.
Sheriff Todd Baxter says at one point, there were 260 COVID-positive inmates in the county jail facilities. An intensive program not only of testing, but also education and quarantining for people entering the jail brought those numbers down. Today there are two COVID-positive inmates, who were caught in the jail intake process and remain isolated from the rest of the inmates.
Since November, 28 asymptomatic deputies and staff members were identified as COVID-positive through an on-site testing center and were sent home to quarantine, preventing spread of the virus.