WICHITA—After a second inmate tested positive last week for coronavirus at the Sedgwick County Jail, an additional 22 have now tested positive for the virus, according to Colonel Brian White.
Currently 27 inmates are still quarantined under the guidance of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the jail's onsite medical vendor to insure they remain symptom free. The jail has just over 1400 inmates as of Tuesday, according to White.
The quarantined inmates either have already tested negative or results are still pending. 23 inmates are in medical isolation due to testing positive or presumed to be possibly positive while we await results.
Since the COVID-19 testing began, a total number of 24 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Sedgwick County Detention Facility.
All of the staff members tested last week had negative test results.
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WICHITA —The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office was notified Wednesday that a second inmate has tested positive for COVID19, according to Lt. Tim Myers. This case is not related to the previous case reported on July 20.
This inmate reported he was sick on July 18. The inmate was immediately placed in quarantine pending the results of the COVID19 test. The inmate was tested by the contracted medical provider of the Sedgwick County Detention Facility on July 20, 2020, because he was symptomatic. The inmate was informed of the positive results today and was instructed to quarantine at home prior to being released from the Sedgwick County Detention Facility.
We contacted the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for their recommendations in regards to further testing for staff and inmates. Based on their advice, the contracted medical provider will offer testing to 12 staff members and 49 inmates that had possible contact with the inmate.
Forty-seven inmates will be quarantined until they are medically cleared. Two inmates who reported symptoms of COVID19 today were placed in isolation.
Three inmates were released from the Sedgwick County Detention Facility prior to the inmate receiving the positive test results. KDHE will be contacting those individuals.
The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office will also be contacting judges, members of the DA’s office, and defense attorneys about the positive test result.
Jail staff is continuing to maintain sanitization standards to take care of staff and inmates which include issuing extra soap, and having disinfectant available as needed, according to Myers.
All staff members have been issued masks to wear, and all inmates have been issued face coverings for the last several months. We also have a full medical staff on site. Additionally we have employed a contractor to sterilize the facility.
If more inmates need to be quarantined or isolated, we already have an established plan to minimize further exposure to staff and inmates.