COVID-19 cases inside Sacramento Jail continue to skyrocket. What’s to blame?
The spike in COVID-19 cases inside the Sacramento County Main Jail has continued, with an increase in cases more than seven times the size of the infected population one week ago.
As of Tuesday night, there were at least 205 inmates inside the main jail who tested positive for the virus, up from 28 one week ago, according to figures provided to defense lawyers by the U.S. Marshals Service.
The county, which updates its statistics on jail infections on Wednesdays, had not yet done so early Wednesday and a spokeswoman was unable to provide updated figures Tuesday.
But Ben Galloway, chief assistant federal defender, said the U.S. Marshals Service informed him Tuesday night 103 inmates facing federal charges and another 102 inmates facing state charges were positive for coronavirus.
The spike in cases first was noticed Jan. 8, when the number of infected federal inmates jumped from seven to 31, he said. By Monday, the number increased to 103 out of 297 federal inmates in custody, and on Tuesday he learned that another 102 non-federal inmates inside the I Street facility also were infected.
A sheriff’s spokesman said Tuesday that the increase stemmed from increased testing required by the county.
“People that are asymptomatic, which I am told is more than 90%, and initially were not tested, are now being randomly tested and testing positive,” Sgt. Rod Grassmann said in an email. “This is exactly what is occurring in the broader Sacramento community, more testing shows more positive results even when people are completely asymptomatic with no idea they have it.
“The take away here is that there have been no deaths or hospitalizations of inmates due to covid. A small percentage of people (Less than 10%) testing positive are experiencing mild symptoms and are being quarantined and treated by correctional health.”
But Galloway disputed that, saying the spike is “stunning” and that the sheriff’s defense is evidence that not enough testing was previously being conducted.
“The statement amounts to an admission that their prior COVID numbers were artificially low only due to a lack of testing,” he said late Tuesday. “It is even more damning that the limited testing so far reveals a tenfold increase in a week.
“The suggestion that 90% of inmates are asymptomatic is dubious given the jail’s notoriously inadequate medical care, the subject of a current federal class action lawsuit. The refusal to take this pandemic seriously means a significant number of COVID-positive inmates are going unidentified and untreated.
“Even those who are asymptomatic will pass the virus to medically-vulnerable inmates, staff, releases, and their families. The Sheriff’s Department needs to acknowledge this crisis, rather than minimizing it, so it can protect the inmates in its custody. The Department of Public Health should insist a COVID test be offered to everyone in the jail. Only then will we know the true scope of this outbreak.”
Lawyers say they are deeply concerned about the medical care their clients are receiving at the jail, with Sacramento attorney Michael Long saying he has a client who was diagnosed with COVID-19 two weeks ago and has been treated only with Tylenol since then, despite his symptoms.
“It seems there’s a big disconnect on what the patients are reporting and what the jail staff tell us concerning the symptoms,” Long said Wednesday. “My client tested positive for COVID back on Dec. 30, and he’s got the typical symptoms: can’t taste, can’t smell, has a fever, always short of breath.
“He says all he’s been treated with is Tylenol. When I correspond with the jail they keep saying he’s not reporting any symptoms, but when the client speaks to his family and to me he sounds like he’s on death’s bed.”
Galloway and Federal Defender Heather Williams sent a letter Tuesday to U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott and other federal officials noting that the cases had “skyrocketed within less than a week” and asking that eligible inmates be released to shelter in place rather at home than remain at the jail.
“Since late November 2020, we noticed new jailed federal arrestees testing positive within days of arrival,” they wrote. “Some recent arrestees have been ‘quarantined’ for months (meaning few showers and limited to no out-of-cell movement including attorney and family calls and meetings) due to ongoing exposure to other jailed COVID-positive inmates.
“One just tested positive himself, after two months of so-called ‘quarantine.’”
Inmates who are quarantined do not have access to videoconferencing to confer with their attorneys, and have limited access to telephones, Galloway said. Federal defenders have not entered the jail physically to meet with clients since last March because of concerns about COVID-19 inside the facility.
“At this critical time, we must avoid bringing new people into the Jail,” Williams and Galloway wrote. “To help the Jail control the pandemic within its walls, affecting inmates and staff, we must also decrease the Jail’s population.
“The Sacramento County Superior Court recognized this last week, ordering the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department to release ‘all confined persons who are serving county jail commitments with 90 actual days or less remaining on their sentence.’ (Jan. 7, 2021.) Their Order deems such sentences ‘time-served.’”
The increase at the Main Jail mirrors a spike at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center, where visits were halted and officials reported 159 RCCC inmates tested positive, an increase from 58 infected reported Dec. 30.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 8:11 AM.