COVID-19 Confirmed Among Inmates At Mecklenburg Jail: Report

CHARLOTTE, NC — Two inmates at the Mecklenburg County Detention Center tested positive for new coronavirus, according to reports Thursday.

As of Tuesday, five staff members at the jail had also tested positive for the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, according to North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services data.

One of the inmates was released on bond prior to the results returning from the lab. The second inmate remains in custody and has been in the jail for less than a month, Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Dejah Gilliam told the Charlotte Observer.

Gilliam told the newspaper that as if June 10, the detention center had administered 84 COVID-19 tests. Its current inmate population is about 1,300 she said.

As of Thursday, North Carolina had 39,481 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 1,500 of which were reported at correctional facilities around the state. There are currently COVID-19 outbreaks in 19 correctional facilities, which have been associated with 23 coronavirus-related deaths.

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