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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Government / Medical / Health

Precautionary Testing Part of Jail COVID-19 Measures; Visitations Likely to Resume in a Couple Weeks

Posted By Kimberly Wear @kimberly_wear on Tue, May 5, 2020 at 12:36 PM

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The Humboldt County jail.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post today that several correctional deputies were tested for COVID-19 as a precaution to protect those at the jail. All came back negative.

Other measures include requiring all staff who interact with inmates to wear masks, separating those newly booked from the rest of the jail population for 14 days and providing health screenings.

According to the Facebook post, the jail will begin reinstating visitations within the next two weeks as part of the phased reopening of the county, with face covering, social distancing and sanitation requirements.

“During this unprecedented time, it can be extremely challenging for the families of individuals still incarcerated who worry that their loved one will become infected while in our facility,” Humboldt County Correctional Facility Capt. Duane Christian said in the post. “The Sheriff’s Office is taking every precaution to protect our incarcerated population and staff members.”

Read the full Facebook post below:

Recently, several Humboldt County Correctional Deputies were tested for COVID-19 as a precautionary measure to ensure our incarcerated population remains virus free. All deputies tested were negative for the virus.

“During this unprecedented time, it can be extremely challenging for the families of individuals still incarcerated who worry that their loved one will become infected while in our facility,” Humboldt County Correctional Facility Captain Duane Christian said. “The Sheriff’s Office is taking every precaution to protect our incarcerated population and staff members.”

In addition to precautionary testing, all staff working around the incarcerated population are required to wear a facial covering as outlined in the recent health order. All newly incarcerated individuals are separated from the main jail population for the first fourteen days of incarceration.

They are given a full health screening upon arriving at the jail, are checked periodically and are screened at the end of the fourteen days to ensure they are symptom free prior to being housed in general population dorms.

As the state and county move into Phase Two of the Stay at Home Order, the Correctional Facility is planning to reopen visitation within the next two weeks, following facial covering, sanitization and social distancing guidelines. Further information regarding reopening visitation will be released in the coming days.

For more information about the Humboldt County Correctional Facility, visit humboldtsheriff.org.