Last Friday the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office announced its first two cases of COVID-19 in inmates at the detention facility. Today, they reported that number has jumped, with 11 inmates and 5 personnel testing positive for the virus.
Sheriff Darin Balaam said last week that the matter of COVID-19 at the detention facility was less a question of if, and more a question of when. A plan to manage the situation, he said, had already been put into place by the time of the announcement.
That plan has included contact tracing throughout the facility and testing. In 48 hours they’d tested 276 inmates and 16 employees, and plan to continue testing as needed. Two of the new cases were discovered Tuesday, Oct. 20, among inmates who’d failed to report symptoms.
The detention facility is now on lockdown, with enhanced cleaning and a number of mandates, including: masks for all staff and for inmates when outside of their cells; limited tier time to maintain social distancing; and no visitors, transports or programs unless in the case of an emergency.
The detention facility is now on lockdown, with enhanced cleaning and a number of mandates, including: masks for all staff and for inmates when outside of their cells; limited tier time to maintain social distancing; and no visitors, transports or programs unless in the case of an emergency.
