Inmates with COVID-19 more than doubles in a week at Sacramento County jail near Elk Grove
The number of inmates infected with COVID-19 at a jail near Elk Grove had more than doubled a week after the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office stopped visits to slow a coronavirus outbreak at the detention facility.
On Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office reported 159 inmates currently housed at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center had tested positive for COVID-19. That was an increase from 58 infected inmates reported Dec. 30, when sheriff’s officials announced they would halt all social visits to inmates at the facility south of Elk Grove, which typically houses about 1,700 inmates.
The number of inmates infected with COVID-19 at the county’s Main Jail in downtown Sacramento increased slightly this week to 28; up from last week’s report of 25 inmates. No deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported at either county jail facility.
Inmates usually are sent to the facility on Bruceville Road to serve a county jail sentence. The number of COVID-19 cases among inmates has risen considerably in the past few weeks.
On Nov. 24 and Dec. 22, according to the Sheriff’s Office weekly COVID-19 dashboard, RCCC had no inmates infected with COVID-19.
The total number of inmates who have tested positive for COVID-19 at both jail facilities since the start of the pandemic increased to 418 this week, up from 298 last week. The total population at both jail facilities this week was reported at 3,272 inmates.
Sheriff’s officials say they have designated quarantine housing for inmates with suspected or confirmed cases COVID-19, along with a testing and quarantine period for all new inmates arriving at the facilities.
“The medical leadership of the Sacramento County Jail has been very responsive,” said Margot Mendelson, an attorney with the Prison Law Office.
The Prison Law Office last year settled a lawsuit with the Sheriff’s Office about conditions inside the jail, and a judge ordered the department to improve conditions. Mendelson is part of the team monitoring the county’s two jails.
The bigger problem continues to be jail populations, she said. Crowded jails beget more transmission of COVID-19 and jails have become more crowded in recent months.
Statewide, jail populations dropped by nearly 30% in the early months of the pandemic. They’ve rebounded since, with populations last week down by just 18% compared with pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the Board of State and Community Corrections. Some 60,000 people are in county jails in California.
In Sacramento County, 500 fewer people are in local jails now compared to this time last year. It’s a 13% decrease from this time last year. As elsewhere, the population has been increasing for months.
Mendelson said the rate of COVID infection at Sacramento County institutions has been less than other county jails in California or elsewhere. “And that’s great news,” she said.
Sheriff’s officials said in a news release last week that the moratorium on visits at RCCC is a precautionary measure that will continue until further notice. Visits for legal and professional purposes will continue as scheduled. Officials also have said they value jail visits, but the health of those who work, are housed and visit the facilities must be protected.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 6:01 PM.
