The Scott County Sheriff's Office on Thursday reported its first positive case of COVID-19 coronavirus at the Scott County Jail.
According to a media statement, the inmate was recently booked into the jail on new charges and before being brought into the jail was tested for the coronavirus. The inmate was not showing symptoms when brought to the jail, but the inmate made a statement that they believed they would test positive.
“We knew that it was only a matter of time,” Sheriff Tim Lane said in the release. “The day was going to come that the staff of the Scott County Jail would have to deal directly with a known positive case of Covid-19.”
The sheriff’s office said the jail is “well equipped” for a single infectious case having been built with an isolation cell with negative air pressure that vents out of the building. Protocols established within the jail help protect other inmates from those who have the virus.
Staff involved in the arrest, transport, and pre-isolation procedures have been undergoing testing and further evaluation, according to the sheriff’s office.