COVID-19 Inmates

COLUMBUS, OHIO April 11, 2020 The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is continuing to follow heightened safety protocols after two (2) inmates at Franklin County Correctional Center II (Jackson Pike) tested positive for COVID-19. On April 5, alert FCSO staff promptly quarantined a male inmate after discovering he was exhibiting potential symptoms of coronavirus. The following day, a second inmate was also quarantined. Both inmates were isolated and then tested for COVID-19. The FCSO received the test results late Friday evening.

At this time, both inmates have remained isolated, and are recovering in a negative airflow single holding cell. The FCSO has also quarantined a small group of inmates housed in the same unit. None of those inmates are exhibiting symptoms. Naphcare, the company that provides medical care to the inmates, is frequently checking on the health of those inmates, including taking their temperature twice daily.

In early March, the FCSO Operations Center began working closely with the courts, prosecutors, and law enforcement to reduce the jail population, which is now decreased by nearly 33-percent. This early logistics planning resulted in the opportunity this week to swiftly and safely isolate and quarantine the affected inmates, and take significant measures to protect additional inmates, deputies, and staff from the risk of exposure to COVID-19.

"We knew this was a possibility," said Sheriff Dallas Baldwin. "We had protocols and plans in place, and the corrections staff surpassed even our highest expectations to respond quickly and take measures to protect everyone's health and safety."

Since early March, the FCSO has also taken several proactive measures to maximize cleanliness in our correctional facilities, and to protect the health and safety of staff and inmates. These include:

• Thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting all work/common areas before and after each shift

• Enhanced medical screenings for new inmates, and increased temperature screenings for inmates and staff

• Deliveries of Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE, including N95 masks, disposable examination gloves, Tyvec bodysuits, and shoe covers

• Deliveries of bleach, disinfectant cleaners, spray bottles, and hand sanitizer

• Reduction of the total jail population by more than 500-inmates charged with a non-violent, low-level offenses

• All arrestees now processed at a single facility, Franklin County Corrections II-Jackson Pike

• Identified quarantine locations at both facilities, including negative air pressure single cells to isolate ill inmates safely

Sheriff Dallas Baldwin and Incident Command are maintaining a 24-hour Sheriff's Operation Center to make immediate decisions to combat the threat of COVID-19 aggressively.