DeKalb Jail Prepares For Possible Coronavirus Outbreak: Sheriff

DEKALB COUNTY, GA — DeKalb County’s jail is prepared for a Coronavirus outbreak.
Sheriff Melody Maddox held a news conference on Wednesday explaining that they have everything in order.

In case an inmate or officer shows symptoms of COVID-19, the DeKalb jail’s infirmary has six isolation cells, reports WSB. There are four for men and two for women. If a higher-level quarantine is required, the inmate would be taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.

If an inmate shows symptoms health experts said they will follow a protocol, making sure officers closely monitor patients.

“If they get symptoms later, those patients will be masked and immediately moved into isolation,” a health expert said during the news conference.

Deputies would then need to contact the health department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An estimated 35 to 40 people are processed in the DeKalb County Jail daily, reports the outlet. They are usually released within 24 hours. Some, however, remain for 29 days.

Globally, more than 92,000 people have been infected and over 3,200 people have died from the new coronavirus, Johns Hopkins reported Tuesday afternoon. Of that total, more than 80,000 cases are in China, while the entire United States has 117 confirmed cases to date.

It's caused by a member of the coronavirus that's a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses.

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