138 Inmates Have COVID-19, Partial Lockdown At Jail Continues

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — A partial lockdown continues at Manatee County Jail in Palmetto as 138 inmates recently tested positive for COVID-19 as of Saturday, Randy Warren, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office public information officer, told Patch by email.

Most of the inmates were asymptomatic and none have died, he added.

On average, the daily inmate population at the jail was 1,009 in June 2019, according to a profile for Manatee County Jail published by the Office of Economic and Demographic Research in May 2020.

There were also 19 jail employees out with positive coronavirus tests as of Saturday. A 67-year-old corrections deputy recently died from COVID-19 after being hospitalized for nearly two weeks.

Warren anticipates that “the partial lockdown will remain in effect for at least several more weeks.”

The partial lockdown was first put in place Aug. 18. At the time, 75 inmates tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday. At the time, none required hospitalization, though three were sent to the jail’s medical unit because of pre-existing medical conditions.

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Under partial lockdown, inmates will remain in their cells, except for six to eight hours a day when they're in small groups and on a rotating basis. During this time, they will be allowed to move around the common areas of their assigned dorm, take showers, make phone calls, and access their commissary and the exercise yards, the sheriff's office said.