Marshall County Sheriff Matt Hassel updated the County Council on the COVID-19 outbreak in the jail late last year.
During Monday’s meeting the sheriff said he received his second shot last Friday and didn’t experience any server reaction. He said most of the County Jail employees have been vaccinated.
The sheriff said the staff worked diligently to protect themselves from the pandemic when they had to go into the cell blocks. He said they wore gowns, shields, masks and gloves and even with that protection five jail employees did end up contracting COVID although he didn’t say they got if from jail inmates.
Councilman Jim Masterson asked about the inmate population with the virus and possibility of vaccines. The sheriff said they test inmates on a regular basis and reported those findings to the Marshall County Health Department. None have been given the vaccine as of yet. He said the county health department feels that since the virus went through the jail that the remaining inmates have the antibodies and should be protected for 6 months of so.
Sheriff Hassel told the county council that they haven’t had a positive COVID test with the inmate population since January 5th. He continued saying new inmates are quarantined for 14 days and then tested before being moved back into the general population.
The sheriff said 95% of the inmates that tested positive when the state came in and conducted the testing had no symptoms at all. He told the council they went with the Health Department recommendation to provide supplements to those who tested positive. They were given vitamin C, Zink and D3 and the results were that those who were experiencing systems recover quicker.
