First inmate tests positive for COVID-19 in El Paso County jail
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- An inmate in the El Paso County jail is now in isolation in its medical ward after testing positive to COVID-19 Wednesday.
His identity is being kept private, but Sgt. Deborah Mynatt with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office says he is doing ok.
He was extradited Monday to Colorado from a jail in Jacksonville, Florida.
Over the first four months of the pandemic, the jail only had 10 cases of COVID-19, all among employees, six of which work inside the jail. This week, that changed.
"The inmate was booked into our facility July 20th and it was through a van transport straight from Jacksonville, Florida to our facility," Mynatt said.
The inmate's test results came in on Wednesday, after he had been escorted to his appearance at the county courthouse.
"When we got the results, we ensured that the courtroom was notified right away, everybody that interacted with him was notified right away and then public health was also brought into this so they could start the investigative piece of contact tracing," she said.
Sgt. Mynatt says thanks to protective measures, the inmate had little to no contact with the rest of the jail. They determined they'd place him in quarantine and monitor his health.
As the biggest county jail in Colorado, there is a lot of movement within inmates. So an outbreak could be catastrophic Mynatt says.
"If you do let it go it's really like adding fuel to the flame and we don't want that in the county jail," she said.
It's something correctional facilities and prisons across the state have been dealing with. The latest outbreak was in the Colorado State Penitentiary near Cañon City, where 24 inmates tested positive. Compared to the rest of jails and state prisons, Mynatt says El Paso County has been successful in limiting the spread of the virus.
"Even with that case, we believe we have been very proactive," she said.
Friday, Mynatt said two inmates were in isolation, and 11 inmates were under quarantine.
