1 Inmate, 6 Travis County Sheriff's Workers Coronavirus Positive

TRAVIS COUNTY, TX — The Travis County Sheriff's Office on Monday reported another inmate and six more employees have been positively diagnosed for the coronavirus.

The new cases bring to 54 confirmed cases among the inmate population and 96 among employees since the pandemic began, according to statistics provided by the sheriff's office. Officials noted the latest inmate to test positive was released on bond, and the six employees with confirmed cases of the respiratory illness work across the board — in law enforcement, corrections and administrative bureaus.

In terms of those in law enforcement confirmed positive, officials noted, that does not mean afflicted employees are deputies. Similarly, those in the Corrections Bureau does not mean affected employees are corrections officers. Rather, the sheriff's office said, all bureaus comprise both sworn and civilian employees.

The sheriff's office broke down the current numbers among the inmate population:

• Total jail population: 1,895.
• Inmates in quarantine: 18.
• Inmates in quarantine confirmed Positive: 0.
• Inmates in Isolation: 283

Quarantine houses inmates who are experiencing virus-like illness symptoms, officials explained. Roughly 1/3 of them have no symptoms, officials added, but are in quarantine after either refusing to answer guideline questions issued by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention or answered yes to all CDC guideline questions on intake. These inmates are housed in quarantine until cleared by our medical staff, according to an advisory. Quarantine is on a separate floor from all other inmates, officials said, and each inmate is in a single-occupancy cell and is seen twice a day by medical professionals.

Officials defined the Quarantine – Confirmed Positive category as defining those housed those inmates who have tested positive for the virus. The inmates are housed in single-occupancy cells and are seen twice a day by medical professionals, officials said.

The term "isolation" refers to all newly booked, (healthy) inmates are held in single-occupancy cells for the first 10-14 days as another layer of protection to keep COVID-19 from entering the general population, officials explained. If an inmate doesn’t show symptoms within that 10-14 day time period, the sheriff's office medical staff is more confident that it’s safe to introduce that person into the general population, according to the advisory. The process was implemented ton March 30 with approval from Texas Commission on Jail Standards.

COVID-19 TESTS

Overall totals

Inmates

1,095 tested, 1,048 negative, 54 positive, 2 pending.

(Inmates are tested at the discretion of the treating physician.)

Travis County Sheriff's Office employees

Tested

Law Enforcement: 108

Corrections: 331

Administration/Support: 119

Negative

Law enforcement: 88

Corrections: 278

Administrative/Support: 95

Positive

Law enforcement: 20

Corrections: 52

Administrative/Support: 24

Pending

Law enforcement: 0

Corrections: 1

Administrative/Support: 0