TEXAS, USA — As we've reported, there's been a major coronavirus outbreak at the Nueces County McKinzie Jail Annex. At least 87 inmates in one dormitory have tested positive, though most at this point are asymptomatic. 3News checked with some other lock-ups in the Coastal Bend to see how they're fairing during this pandemic.
Every sheriff we spoke with today all had similar responses. They've gone above and beyond to keep their jails as safe as possible. Surprisingly, the three county jails we selected had no COVID-19 positives among their inmates.
We checked with Bee, Aransas and San Patricio County sheriffs. All were happy to report their jail populations remain COVID-19 free thus far.
"It's not the employee we were concerned about, it's the out of town people that come in on felony warrants and the ones we bring in and arrest every night from other agencies around us," Sheriff Oscar Rivera with San Patricio County said.
"The biggest steps that we're taking of course are the face masks and the sanitizing, not just of our hands and so forth, but our vehicles and offices, we've really increased the sanitation part of it," Sheriff Alden Southmayd in Bee County said. "Just yesterday, we had a local company that donated really nice face masks to the deputies and the jail."
All of the sheriffs reported taking extraordinary measures from the onset of the pandemic, some even providing masks to inmates, and carefully monitoring each person who comes in contact with the inmates. While the people behind bars have so far tested negative, a couple of the sheriff's staff have not.
Aransas County: Two employees have tested positive. The county believes it was transmitted outside of their facility because one of them had been off for five or six days and one doesn't live in Rockport.
San Patricio County: One employee tested positive.
Bee County: One Deputy tested positive.
The similarities between these three county lawmen are their strategic thinking. While they do have far fewer inmates than Nueces County, the priority here is key in keeping staff, jailers and inmates safe.
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the Coastal Bend, click here.
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