Eleven inmates at Santa Rita Jail have confirmed cases of COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, as reported by the Mercury News on Wednesday.
The number of confirmed cases within the jail spiked from three to 11 Wednesday. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office also told the Mercury News that seven inmates are currently awaiting test results.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office reported the first case April 4 after one inmate tested positive. By April 7, a total of three inmates had contracted the disease, according to the Mercury News article.
Overall, 52 tests have been administered and 32 have come back negative, while seven have not yet yielded results.
Meanwhile, 26 of the facility’s total 2,000 inmates are currently in the facility’s quarantine pod, with the jail currently at about half capacity, the article added.
Due to the spread of COVID-19, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office has temporarily stopped booking new inmates with the exception of those who committed crimes that are “serious” or are violent in nature.
In the past five and a half weeks, the jail has seen a 23.5% drop in population, with the number of inmates dropping from 2,597 to 1,983, according to the Mercury News.
Check for live updates here.
