According to Sgt. Carrie Carver, someone who tested positive for COVID-19 has stayed inside the Lane County Jail. But she said the arrestee remained isolated from others.
“So we have had an inmate who was transported to our jail from another correctional facility for sentencing,” said Carver. “So they come in very briefly and then they leave after their sentencing. And that inmate was COVID-19 positive.”
Carver said the individual was not a known coronavirus case when they arrived.
“They were in our facility for such a short period of time that the test came back after they had already left our facility,” wrote Carver in an email response. “This is a great example of how proactive testing can help prevent the spread of the virus.”
Carver also said the jail followed their coronavirus protocols, which she said helped limit the contact the person had with others in the facility.
“One of the changes in our protocols was that every new person into the facility—every new arrestee—is in [a] single-cell for at least seven days for observation,” said Carver. “ It could be more than seven days, depending upon a variety of factors, including whether they're symptomatic or they've had exposure to other folks.”
The arrestee was tested upon arrival and stayed in a single-cell for approximately one day.
“After that inmate arrived they were tested,” said Carver. “Shortly thereafter, the inmate went to court, was sentenced, and then returned to prison after spending about a day in the Lane County Jail.”
Carver said they will continue to test arrestees upon their arrival, and are prepared to implement additional precautions if needed.
“And our hope is that if we discover that someone is positive, we can take those extra precautions that we might not have known to take ahead of time,” said Carver. “So there's standard PPE, but there are additional precautions we take when somebody is symptomatic or is known to be code positive.”
