MARTINEZ — An person who was booked into the Contra Costa County jail Tuesday has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a news release from the county’s health department.
The person, who was not identified by name, age, or gender, has been placed into “clinical isolation” at the Martinez Detention Facility, county officials said. The Martinez jail has negative pressure quarantine cells for inmates contagious with a serious illness.
It is the first time an inmate has tested positive, officials said.
The inmate was not exhibiting symptoms of coronavirus, but Contra Costa Health Services has recently begun “proactive” testing of asymptomatic inmates, the county news release says. So far, 53 tests have been performed in the county jail system. The county started testing inmates in mid-March, but at first limited tests to those who exhibited symptoms.
In late March, a deputy at the Richmond jail tested positive for COVID-19, officials said. No other staff or inmate cases have been announced.
The test was conducted on the inmate as they were being booked into the jail, allowing staff to move the person into isolation quickly, officials said.
It is the second time in two days that a jail inmate in the Bay Area tested positive for coronavirus. In San Jose, officials announced Tuesday that an inmate who was booked April 19 had tested positive for coronavirus. The inmate showed no symptoms but was tested anyway.
As certain counties have begun testing asymptomatic jail inmates, Alameda County has resisted doing so. In court filings last month, attorneys for the Alameda County Sheriff argued against widespread testing inside the Santa Rita Jail, making the case that testing asymptomatic people could lead to a “false sense of security” and would be redundant to the jail’s efforts to quarantine inmates who may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
