38 In Sheriff's Department Positive For Coronavirus, 15 Inmates

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angles County Sheriff's Department reported Friday that 38 of their employees have tested positive for the new coronavirus, as have 15 inmates in their jail system.

According to the new data, 350 employees have been quarantined, and 406 are back at work. Among inmates, 1,401 have been quarantined and 53 have been placed in isolation. The sheriff's department explains that isolation is for inmates who have either tested positive for coronavirus or are showing symptoms of the virus and have been tested but are still waiting for test results. Quarantine is for inmates who have been in close contact for 10 minutes with someone under observation.

There are a total of 12,378 inmates in the department's custody, meaning about 11.7 percent of inmates are in isolation or quarantine. To try and prevent the spread of the virus any further through the correctional system the sheriff's department says they're trying something new: converting inmate sewing shops into mask factories.

So far two sewing shops have been converted, the men's shop at the North County Correctional Facility, and a female inmate's shop at the Century Regional Detention Center.

Since starting the project late last month, the two shops have now made over 1,500 masks. Officers say they have limited the number of inmates who can work in each shop to avoid the risk of spreading the virus through the population, but that those remaining inmates are making up to 100 masks a day.

At first the masks were just being made to help detention center inmates working in the kitchen or assigned as trustees, but the program has been so successful the sheriff's department now says their goal is to make a mask for every single inmate. After that they may possibly make even more for staff who want them.

The department says so far the masks have proved popular, and many inmates are even volunteering to help out with mask production.

The sheriff's office has released a video explaining their maskmaking process:

City News Service and Patch Staffer Charles Woodman contributed to this report.