As the inmate population continues to drop at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, the number of inmates who have tested positive for COVID-19 is rising.
According to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, eight more inmates have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at Santa Rita Jail and seven are still awaiting test results. The confirmed cases among inmates at the jail jumped from three to 11 on Wednesday.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office reported Saturday that an inmate had tested positive for the coronavirus and on Tuesday, the sheriff reported that two more inmates also had confirmed cases of COVID-19.
So far, 52 coronavirus tests have been completed with 34 coming back negative, 11 positive and seven yet to yield results. In all, 26 inmates remain in a quarantine pod at the facility, which now has fewer than 2,000 inmates.That’s about half of the facility’s capacity.
The 11 inmates are among the 640 people in Alameda County who have confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the latest data provided by the county on Wednesday.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office has temporarily stopped booked new inmates, except for those suspected of committing serious or violent crimes. Since March 1, the inmate population has dropped from 2,597 to 1,983.
The decline in population represents a 23.5 percent decrease over a five and a half week period.
On Wednesday, a second inmate at a Santa Clara County jail tested positive for COVID-19, but the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office has had a more difficult time slowing the spread among its deputies. To date, 11 Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office staff including eight deputies have tested positive for the coronavirus.
