Newton —The Harvey County Health Department, in conjunction with the Harvey County Sheriff’s Office, has confirmed an inmate tested positive for COVID-19 in the Harvey County Detention Center, according to Kyle McCaskey, public information officer.
The inmate was recently taken into custody, and was identified through precautionary testing as a confirmed COVID-19 case. All new inmates brought into the Detention Center are immediately placed in a 14-day quarantine cell as a COVID-19 precaution before being released into the Detention Center’s general population.
“We worked with the Health Department to put these precautionary measures in place early on when COVID-19 first became a concern in our state,” said Harvey County Detention Center Capt. Scott Van Horn. “These safeguards help protect the health of our staff and our inmate population. Our deputies have done a great job to adapt to these changes.”
The individual is now in isolation at the Detention Center. The Detention Center has medical cells with negative pressure, which keeps air flow out of other areas of the facility.
Because the individual was not considered a close contact with Detention Center deputies or the general population of the Detention Center, additional testing is not anticipated. The Sheriff’s Office medical staff will regularly monitor the health of the individual.
Out of an abundance of caution, visitation and fingerprinting services at the Detention Center have been suspended until further notice.
The Detention Center previously implemented several initiatives to reduce potential exposure to COVID-19, including requiring deputies to wear face masks when in contact with inmates, health screenings of new inmates and additional cleaning of high-touch areas.
This is the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the Harvey County Detention Center.