Sedgwick County Jail has 123 inmates, staff test positive for COVID-19

At the Sedgwick County Jail, 112 inmates and 11 staff have tested positive for COVID-19, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday.

The jail had started to test all of its inmates and staff on Monday and plans to have all of its roughly 1,510 inmates tested by the end of the week. The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office said it tested 350 people on Tuesday and results take between 2-4 days.

“Inmates that have tested positive are being housed together. Inmates that have tested negative are being housed together,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “Inmates that have tested and are awaiting test results are being housed together. Any inmate that is symptomatic for the (COVID-19) virus is being housed separately in isolation.”

The jail announced its first positive COVID-19 case in an inmate July 20. The first deputy tested positive on March 31.

Before deciding to test the entire facility, the sheriff’s office had about 26 inmates and a deputy test positive. Last week, the sheriff’s office said a kitchen worker tested positive, causing the 54 inmates working in the kitchen to have to be quarantined.

The outbreak led the Sedgwick County District Court to issue an administrative order Tuesday suspending in-person court appearances for jail inmates for 30 days or until the outbreak is over. Judges plan to hold virtual hearings for those defendants and anyone who was in the jail over the past two weeks to prevent the infection from spreading into the courthouse.

This story was originally published August 11, 2020 at 3:19 PM.