SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that all inmates at Santa Cruz County Jail have tested negative for Covid-19.
The announcement follows news that several correctional officers who work at the jail tested positive for the novel coronavirus, an outbreak that has been tied to a Thanksgiving gathering which many of them reportedly attended.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart called the outbreak “very concerning.”
“We operate one of the few jails in the country that has not had a Covid-19 outbreak among its incarcerated population,” he stated in a press release. “Thankfully, all Covid-19 tests from our remaining staff and incarcerated population have come back negative.”
Hart said that contact tracers are still working on this incident to determine the origin of the outbreak.
“Once the contact tracers have completed their investigation my management team will conduct a thorough internal review to determine next steps,” he said.
According to Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn, inmates booked into the jail are given Covid-19 tests, and are held in a quarantine unit for 14 days. They are then given a second test after 12 days before being moved to the general population.
In addition, jail administration has implemented weekly testing for all staff and inmates, and is working with the Santa Cruz County Health Department to ensure they are following best practices, Keehn said.
