Contra Costa Health Services said its staff is investigating an outbreak of COVID-19 among three dozen inmates at two detention sites.
In a statement Wednesday evening, the department said 36 inmates at the Martinez and West County detention facilities have tested positive for COVID-19, but none required hospitalization as of Wednesday morning.
The outbreak apparently began in the Martinez jail, followed by cases in Richmond after a transfer of one or more inmates, and staff have not yet found if all cases are part of a single outbreak.
Inmates who may have been exposed to the virus are under quarantine, with all staff and inmates who may have contact with positive testing inmates getting tests of their own.
Inmates booked into jails are first tested and held in quarantine for 14 days before transfer to the general population, health staff said, with symptomatic inmates tested and all inmates offered repeat tests on demand. Jail staff receive tests every two weeks.
When asked about up-to-date access to inmate conditions, a Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office spokesman deferred to the county’s health department. a reporter with KTVU previously inquired about access was referred to a data portal tracking the virus’ spread in detention facilities that appeared to run as much as two weeks behind current dates and had not been updated since last week.
Check back for updates.
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.
