York County Jail COVID outbreak: 47 inmates, 3 officers positive; 27 staff quarantined
Forty-seven inmates at the York County jail have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said.
All 327 inmates at the jail were tested after an inmate tested positive on Jan. 18, said Kevin Tolson, the York County Sheriff. The 47 positive inmates have been quarantined in a single housing unit and are being monitored by medical staff, Tolson said. The quarantine will last 14 days.
Three detention officers also have tested positive, Tolson said. Another 27 jailers and sheriff’s office staff are quarantined after possible exposure to the virus, sheriff officials said.
None of the 47 inmates or staff required hospitalization after positive tests, according to Tolson and Trent Faris, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
Some of the inmates have mild coronavirus symptoms while others are asymptomatic, Faris said.
It remains unclear if the inmates contracted the disease while in custody, Faris said.
“We may never be sure how the positive cases happened,” Faris said Monday.
Jail, courts try to prevent virus
After the Jan. 18 positive test of the single inmate, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control provided the sheriff’s office with testing equipment for all inmates, Faris said.
All inmates who enter the jail are kept out of general population for 14 days, Faris said. After booking, inmates are monitored for COVID-19 symptoms or any other medical issues before being moved into the general population, Faris said.
More than 350 people work at the sheriff’s office in enforcement and detention.
Since the pandemic began, 22 detention officers have tested positive at the jail located at the Moss Justice Center in York.
The jail suspended outside visits after the March outbreak of the COVID pandemic, officials said.
The jail houses inmates who have been arrested pending trial. Inmates are still eligible for bond hearings through videoconference at the Moss center, said Leslie Robinson, spokesperson for the 16th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Trials in York County and South Carolina have been postponed by the S.C. Supreme Court because of the pandemic.
In November, 11 sheriff’s office deputies tested positive after a training session.
This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 5:19 PM.
