Fairfax Jail Inmate Tests Positive For Coronavirus: Sheriff

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — An inmate in his 20s at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center tested positive for the new coronavirus, or COVID-19, the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office said Monday. The positive test is the first among inmates at the Fairfax detention center. No staff at the detention center have tested positive for the coronavirus.

The man has been in the detention center since Jan. 29. He has been placed in isolation in the jail.

"While we are doing everything we can to prevent the spread of illness, it is possible that additional cases will occur since individuals already could have been exposed," the sheriff's office said.

Since mid-March, the sheriff's office has implemented enhanced screening and cleaning protocols to limit the spread of the coronavirus inside the detention center. The sheriff's office also has suspended personal visiting and volunteer-led programs.

“This is an unfortunate development for our local criminal justice system," Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said Tuesday in response to the positive test. "In the pursuit of justice, we always take the health and wellbeing of our community into account when making prosecutorial decisions — that includes the wellbeing of incarcerated individuals."

Descano said his office is working with defense counsel and judges to find alternatives to pretrial incarceration when appropriate. The commonwealth's attorney also is reviewing and recommending nonviolent inmates nearing the end of a sentence for early release when appropriate.

The Virginia Department of Corrections said Monday that "multiple incarcerated offenders" have been tested for the coronavirus and none of the tests have come back positive. Visitation and volunteer activities at the state's 40 prisons remain canceled until further notice.

A contract nurse at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women in Goochland County has tested positive for the coronavirus and is currently at home, according to the Department of Corrections.

The testing of inmates inside Virginia's prisons started only in the past week. Brian Moran, the state's secretary of public safety and homeland security, said at a March 22 press briefing that the Department of Corrections had not tested any inmates for the coronavirus.

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As of Monday, the Virginia Department of Health reported 1,020 COVID-19 cases and 25 deaths. Of the total cases, 136 people are hospitalized.

The Fairfax Health District continues to report the most cases — 224. The next largest numbers are 86 in Arlington County, 79 in Prince William County, 73 in James City County and 61 in Loudoun County.

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