STAFF REPORT :::
A Spalding County Jail inmate assigned to the kitchen detail has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
According to a press release issued by Sheriff Darrell Dix, officials learned of the diagnosis at approximately 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. This marks the first confirmed COVID-19 case at the jail since the outset of the pandemic.
“Unfortunately, this day eventually came due to the number of inmates, arrestees, and staff we have in our facility on a daily basis. The hard work and attention to detail by our detention staff and all of our employees across the agency has proven very successful in delaying what we hoped against hope would not occur in our jail,” the press release stated.
Dr. Robert Hall responded to the Jail and officials met with him regarding the necessary steps to take to stop, contain and further prevent the spread of COVID-19 to additional inmates and staff.
Hall is also conferring with Dr. Getachew Hagos, an infectious disease specialist.
Steps to be taken will include the immediate quarantine of all inmate workers used daily across the Spalding County Jail and testing those inmate workers and Jail staff members that have come in contact with those inmates.
Effected areas will be deep cleaned and misted prior to inmates and staff re-entering those areas. The jail kitchen will also be deep cleaned and misted.
Authorities say they are now working through the process of how to provide meals to inmates for the next seven to 14 days.
Quarantine measures and booking safety protocols for all incoming arrestees and inmates in place since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak will continue. The SCSO will also continue to comply with guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention including social distancing, checking the temperatures of staff and arrestees when entering the jail and arriving for work and a continued reduction in physical contact in and about the facility and on calls for service when possible.
“The Spalding County Sheriff’s Office Detention staff and employees’ have done a tremendous job in preventing Covid-19 from entering the jail. We took all of the precautions that we could to stop it from happening and we were successful in those efforts up to this point. We will continue those efforts,” Dix said. “When you are coming into contact with people on calls, while making arrests, and holding people in custody, unfortunately all the precautions you can take sometimes fall short when dealing with something you can’t see.”