First positive case of coronavirus at Sedgwick County Jail is a deputy, sheriff says
An employee of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office who works at the jail has tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19.
Sheriff Jeff Easter made the announcement during a Thursday afternoon news conference. The detention deputy tested positive on Tuesday after first experiencing symptoms a week ago. The deputy is in isolation at home, and family members are quarantined at home.
Coworkers who were around the deputy are still reporting to work.
A second employee has also been sent home and will be tested after experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. Hospital staff said the deputy was presumptive positive Tuesday night, Easter said.
Neither deputy has a travel history, and Easter said they “could have got it in everyday life or possibly at work.” Public health officials have said the Wichita area is experiencing community spread of the novel coronavirus.
“We have had anxiety within the sheriff’s office since these two cases have arisen,” Easter said. “It’s just the same as anxiety citizens have at home or at work. It’s no different here.”
No inmates have tested positive for the virus. One inmate has been quarantined since last week while awaiting test results. That person had symptoms of the disease when booked into jail, but is no longer experiencing symptoms.
People continue to be arrested and booked into jail, but the lobby is closed to the public.
The detention center is the largest jail in Kansas. The facility can hold roughly 1,406 inmates. There are 575 single beds, meaning most of the inmates are in bunks or in a dormitory where the beds are a few feet apart — less than the recommended social distancing of 6 feet.
The district attorney said last week that prosecutors, defense attorneys and the sheriff’s office were working to release certain inmates on bond to give the jail “breathing room” during the pandemic.
Contributing: Michael Stavola of The Eagle
This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 4:47 PM.