The COVID pandemic has had an impact on Sheriff operations, as elsewhere. Virtually all public access to the jail has been restricted, and testing and quarantine protocols have been used to minimize the opportunity for spread of the virus. All employees are temperature and symptom checked upon every entry into the courthouse and the jail. Those with Covid symptoms or exposure are quarantined in accordance with ACC human resources guidelines. The impact of Covid related employee leave has stressed and stretched our resources, but teamwork and flexibility have ruled the day to maintain safe operation of the court and jail.
All inmates booked into
the jail are screened for symptoms and referred for medical treatment as
indicated. Increased sanitation procedures have been implemented, including the
addition of air purifiers in every living and working space. Intermittent
voluntary testing has been used for inmates beginning in the fall of 2020, with
fewer than 50 cases of positive results, an encouraging fact considering that
the jail admits an average of over 350 individuals monthly. In-person judicial
proceedings were halted in the early months of the pandemic, and
video-conferencing systems purchased as part of the new jail project were fully
implemented almost overnight, facilitating increased access to individuals in
the jail for attorneys and judicial officials. There have been no Covid related
deaths for incarcerated individuals and very few cases of hospitalization for a
brief period of time.
