Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office closes jail lobby to prevent coronavirus spread

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office will close the jail lobby starting Monday, March 23, until at least April 5 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Sheriff Jeff Easter said during a news conference Saturday.

In a roughly nine-minute news conference streamed on Facebook, Easter outlined the precautions the Sheriff’s Office has taken and ways people can stay in contact with their loved ones.

Remote visitation via phone or video will be available 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. More information on the remote visitation can be found on sedgwickcounty.org/sheriff or visitfromhome.net.

Inmates will still have access to their attorneys and ministers, Easter said.

Easter said the Sheriff’s Office has plans in place to care for and quarantine an inmate if one should become infected. Sedgwick County had one reported case of the coronavirus as of Saturday morning.

Additional questions for the jail’s administration can be asked by calling 316-660-0900 or emailing jail@sedgwick.gov. Those two ways of communication are monitored from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

This story was originally published March 21, 2020 at 5:16 PM.