Coronavirus: Hennepin County Jail Restricts Visits

MINNEAPOLIS — In an effort to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus, called COVID-19, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office has decided to cancel all social visitation of inmates at the Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis.

"We do not take this decision lightly," Sheriff Dave Hutchinson said in a statement.

"We know how important it is to our inmates to stay in touch with families and how important it is for families to see their inmates. The most important consideration for us, though, is the safety of our inmates and our detention center staff. After working with our medical team through the past few days, we determined that even with limited physical contact, the risk of contamination from a visitor to the facility is still too high. This is a fluid situation; we will continue working with our medical experts and our colleagues from the Minnesota Department of Corrections determine how to best keep our inmates and staff safe."

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