Sheriff: 90 inmates are in quarantine because of COVID-19
Click here for updates on this story
JACKSON COUNTY, Mo. (KCTV/KSMO) — The Jackson County sheriff says 90 inmates are in precautionary quarantine after 12 people at the jail tested positive for COVID-19.
Sheriff Darryl Forte tweeted early Wednesday morning that among those 12 who tested positive are four inmates and eight “non-inmates”.
Forte did not mention how those people are handling the illness, but said, “Safety, security and wellness of all remain a priority.”
Jails and prisons have been hotbeds for the virus due to the challenge of social distancing and other mitigating efforts to control the disease.
The Jackson County Detention Center has been proactive during this pandemic, asking a judge to grant the release of 80 prisoners in March to help with crowding.
Prisoners who contract COVID19 are twice as likely to die of the virus according to National Commission on Covid-19 and Criminal Justice, a commission under the Council on Criminal Justice. That report was released in September.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
