Jail Inmate Tests Positive For Coronavirus In Santa Clara County

SAN JOSE, CA — An inmate at the Santa Clara County Main Jail in San Jose has tested positive for the new coronavirus, officials announced Monday.

On Friday, police arrested the 31-year-old man for an unspecified offense and took him to the jail. While he was being booked, the man said he felt sick and mentioned that a family member had returned from Europe a few days earlier, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's office said in a news release.

The man was immediately masked and taken to an isolation cell in the booking area, and later isolated at the infirmary, where he was tested for COVID-19.

On Sunday, medical staff learned the man had tested positive, the sheriff's office said. The man remains quarantined and is being monitored by medical staff.

San Jose Police were notified that the arresting officers may have been exposed.

Nationwide, jail and prison inmates have been described as especially vulnerable to the virus, due to their close proximity to fellow inmates and the insufficient medical care sometimes present inside prisons and jails. Some cities and counties, including some in California, have released inmates early in an effort to avoid coronavirus outbreaks.

Staff at the San Jose jail have been screening new arrestees outside the jail as a precaution, asking them if they have shown any symptoms of COVID-19 or had exposure to someone with the virus, officials said.

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