8 SLO County Jail staff, inmates test positive for COVID amid detention facility outbreaks
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office says more inmates and correctional staff have tested positive for COVID-19 as new infections at detention facilities across the region continue to surge.
The Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday that two more inmates and six additional correctional deputies tested positive for COVID-19 in what the agency says is the result of an outbreak that began in the jail on Dec. 10.
The new cases bring the total number of inmates who have tested positive for COVID-19 to 17, and the total number of correctional staff that have been infected by the virus to 12.
Eight Sheriff’s Office patrol deputies had previously tested positive for coronavirus.
All infected inmates have been isolated, the Sheriff’s Office said in the release, and the affected housing units “have been quarantined.”
“These numbers reflect the rising number of cases which is being seen countywide,” the Sheriff’s Office said in the release. “The Sheriff’s Office continues to adjust and enhance our health and safety protocols as new incidents are reported.”
The Sheriff’s Office says it is working with the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department to manage the outbreak, which is defined by the California Department of Public Health as three or more cases that are believed to be linked.
News of the most recent jail cases come the same day as San Luis Obispo County announced a record-breaking daily coronavirus case tally. The county added 343 cases of coronavirus over the weekend and Monday, as well as one death.
Of the 343 new cases reported Monday, 100 came from California Men’s Colony, an all-male state prison outside San Luis Obispo that houses roughly 3,800 inmates and staffs about 1,800 employees.
In total, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported 276 active cases of COVID-19 among the inmate population, with 269 of those cases testing positive within the past two weeks. It was not clear Monday if those numbers include San Luis Obispo County’s updated case figures.
A total of seven CMC inmates have been released while infected with the virus, and two inmates have died since the pandemic began.
Of the coronavirus cases reported countywide Monday, 43 were at Atascadero State Hospital, where the California Department of State Hospitals says 90 patients have tested positive since May — 46 of those within the last two weeks.
In addition, the state agency reports 115 staff members have tested positive, with 26 of those cases reported in the past 14 days.
No coronavirus-related deaths had been reported at ASH as of Monday.
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 5:11 PM.
