Tuesday afternoon, Marshall County Sheriff Matt Hassel sent a news release out to update the county on the COVID-19 outbreak in the jail.
In his release the sheriff said after receiving the results of the state’s Strike Team testing on December 31st and learning that 122 of the 169 inmates were positive, they immediately developed a plan and moved the entire population around according to test results.
In the new release Sheriff Hassel said inmates are no longer in lockdown in the cells for 23 hours. The inmates have masks to wear except when eating and sleeping and have been advised to stay inside their cells for their safety.
The nurse on duty daily has been assigned a full-time officer so she can freely and safely perform her duties while the jail staff continues to perform their normal duties. The nurse is required to check vitals of the negative inmates daily and she handles all medical complaints.
The sheriff said inmates have been instructed to let the medical staff know if anything comes up and they will be treated on a case-by-case basis by the medical provider Quality Correctional Care.
In the news release it states, “All of the inmates that could be considered ‘High Risk’ are currently doing fine.” It goes on to state, “No inmates have been refused treatments and no inmates have been refused sick call requests.”
As a way to slow the spread and protect the inmates they are given cleaning supplies twice a day and the cells have a bottle of disinfectant and inmates were instructed to clean items before using them and to reclean after use.
Jail inmates assist in the kitchen and Sheriff Hassel said only inmates who are healthy and have a negative COVID are allowed to work in the kitchen. They must wear full protective gear and have their vitals checked daily and COVID tested weekly.
Jail staff are wearing masks at all times while on duty and have gowns and face shields at the disposal. Employees have limited contact with inmates while still maintaining control of the safety and security of the facility. Jail staff members are being tested weekly and Commissioner Kevin Overmyer said on WTCA’s “What’s Your Opinion Show” Tuesday that one employee has tested positive and the inmate count increased to 125 positive cases.
