NUECES COUNTY, Texas — Nueces County Sheriff J.C. Hooper said there's no question that the inevitable spread of COVID infections among inmates and his staff at the County jail has been one of his biggest challenges.
During a special One on One interview with Joe Gazin, Hooper said he has always had the medical personnel in place to handle that kind of crisis.
"We have a medical service provider, whose responsibility it is to keep those inmates as safe as possible when it comes to their medical conditions," Hooper said. "About 50-percent of that jail population, they come in here sick, Joe. They come in with addictions."
"Not necessarily COVID. Its never been COVID. COVID only became an issue for us back in March. We have the isolation rooms. We have the medical wards. We have a fully-staffed pharmacy. We have RNs, LVNs. We've got about 50 people in there dedicated to the health and wellness of our inmates."
Hooper also talked about another big challenge at the jail -- how to control the violence that he said has always been a problem at a lockup like this. Plus, his thoughts on running for office for the first time.
Episode 4: One on One with Corpus Christi Police Chief Mike Markle. Full story here.
Episode 3: One on One with The Port of Corpus Christi CEO Sean Strawbridge. Full story here.
Episode 2: Nueces County Precinct 4 Commissioner Brent Chesney. Full story.
Episode 1: City Manger Peter Zanoni. Full story here.
