The Marquette County Jail did have its first confirmed inmate test positive for COVID 19. The individual, who is from out of the area, was lodged early Friday morning by the Michigan State Police.
Upon lodging, the individual was screened and was not showing any symptoms (cough, fever, etc.) The person however did report that they may have had contact with someone who had the virus in Wisconsin. Per the Marquette County Jail protocol, the person was isolated from the general population and was administered a test. The positive result was received approximately 24 hours later.
In the early stages of the COVID 19 pandemic, the County Jail worked diligently to establish protocols that would protect the staff and inmates. When an arrested individual is brought to the jail, the inmate is not brought to the general population. Staff minimally wear masks and gloves during the booking procedure.
Each inmate is asked a series of questions related to health, travel, and contact(s) with others with COVID 19.Once booked in, the inmate is not immediately placed with the general population.
They are kept in a separate location within the jail that has separate air handling from the main facility. They stay in this part of the jail for 14 days.
Often, inmates are being released on bond before meeting the 14 day period. Again, it should be noted that the inmate(s) are isolated away from the general jail population. Proper PPE use is continued when contacting the inmates.This inmate has been released on bond and is self-isolating.
The Marquette County Health Department is working with the Sheriff’s office regarding this matter. It is important for residents to know that this person was never in the general population of the jail and had been isolated since coming in.Jail staff that had any contact with the inmate have been tested and so far all the tests have been negative. More testing will be done in the next week. It should also be noted that inmates and staff were offered tests on May 14th and they were administered by the Michigan National Guard. All tests were negative at that time.
Comments