With most results in, 41% of Sedgwick County inmates have tested positive for COVID

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office on Friday released the COVID-19 testing results it has received to date. Roughly 1,500 inmates plus staff were tested last week.

Lt. Tim Myers said the numbers are cumulative of testing results since the beginning of the pandemic and total 747 negatives and 523 positives, or about 41% coming back positive. Five tests were inconclusive.

Myers said the numbers do not include staff members, among whom, there were fewer than 50 cases.

More results are still coming in, Myers said.

“Not every inmate was tested. Some inmates declined testing,” Myers said in a message. “If they were not exposed and not symptomatic, they are in normal housing. If they were exposed, they are quarantined.”

The sheriff’s office started testing roughly 350 inmates a day on August 10 and brought the tests directly to Topeka for faster results. The testing started about a month after the first inmate tested positive. The first case at the jail was a deputy who tested positive on March 31.

The sheriff’s office reported one deputy has been hospitalized because of the virus but has since been released from the hospital. No inmates have required hospitalization, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Inmates who have tested positive are grouped together. Inmates who haven’t tested positive are grouped together and will continue to be tested, Colonel Brian White said last week.

After starting then slowing its effort, White said the sheriff’s office has started to refocus on releasing inmates from jail.

Before the mass testing, the jail had 123 positive inmates and 144 negatives. Staff had 11 positives and 36 negatives.

The outbreak caused the Kansas Department of Corrections to temporarily stop taking inmates from Sedgwick County. The sheriff’s office has been working with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to control the spread.

“We are continuing to maintain sanitization standards to take care of our staff and inmates, which include issuing extra soap, and having disinfectant available as needed. All staff members have been issued masks to wear, and all inmates have been issued face coverings for the last several months,” the release says. “We also have a full medical staff on site.”

This story was originally published August 21, 2020 at 1:12 PM.