Coconino County corrections officials report half-a-dozen new coronavirus cases among inmates. It comes as known infections at the jail have remained relatively steady. KNAU’s Ryan Heinsius reports.
Officials at the Coconino County Detention Facility say 12 of the 22 inmates who’ve tested positive in the last month already had COVID-19 when they arrived. None suffered significant health issues from the disease.
All inmates who arrive at the jail undergo a 14-day quarantine along with other precautions, and to date 46 inmates have been tested.
Officials have kept the population at the jail low, at about 250 prisoners, to limit the spread of COVID-19. The sheriff’s office is encouraging local law enforcement officers only to arrest those accused of violent crimes.
Officials worry, however, that with arrest rates increasing in the county, the number of COVID-19 cases at the jail could rise.
Eleven detention staff members in Coconino County have been diagnosed with coronavirus but they’ve all since recovered.
