Six inmates, seven guards, one infirmary staffer have tested positive at Suffolk County jail to date

The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department reported last night that, to date, six "detainees" at the Suffolk County Jail on Nashua Street have tested positive for Covid-19 and that seven guards and one medical contractor there have also tested positive.

One detainee testing positive was hospitalized at Boston Medical Center overnight, and discharged back to Department facilities the following day. All six detainees have been transferred to a special quarantine unit at the House of Correction and positive staff members went into mandated quarantine. An additional two residents of the Jail are currently being housed separately at the House of Correction while awaiting test results.

Separately, the ACLU analyzed statewide inmate data and concluded:

[T]he number of positive COVID-19 cases inside prisons and jails is increasing at a terrifying rate. In just one week, the total number of reported positive cases increased over 200 percent, from 93 prisoners and prison staff who had tested positive by April 6 to 281 positive tests by April 14.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that people being held while awaiting trial could petition for immediate release due to Covid-19 concerns as long as they were not charged with certain violent crimes.

The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department discussed the steps it has taken to deal with infections:

In the instance of a positive test for officers, the Department conducts a review of on-duty contacts (staff/detainee/inmate) that an officer may have had. Typically, an officer does not fall within the CDC guidance of “close contact” with inmates, unless they have had physical contact through a “use of force” action or an assignment that put him or her in an enclosed area for a prolonged period of time. The Department also reviews staff contacts and assignments. Certain staff contacts have led to mandated quarantine, others, self-quarantine, and still others no quarantine, depending on the review and level of contact.

Consistent with the Department’s enhanced sanitization and decontamination protocols, the Jail units in which the individuals who tested positive lived pre-test, underwent deep cleaning and decontamination. Sanitization efforts continue in those units on an accelerated pace, in addition to the cleaning and sanitizing protocols enforced multiple times throughout the day throughout both facilities.

The use of masks for all personnel has been mandated, and anyone entering Department facilities is screened for symptoms and administered a temperature test. Custody and medical staff have been assigned personal protective equipment (PPE), and all staff, detainees and inmates have been given masks, which are replaced as needed.