This week, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department reported that six Guilford County detention officers tested positive for COVID-19 during July and August.

According to a press release from the department, an investigation by the Sheriff’s Department, with the help of the county’s health department staff, indicates that all six of these employees contracted the virus outside of the workplace.

The Sheriff’s Department also stated that it has been addressing the situation.

“All six of those Officers were provided with paid leave and sent home to comply with quarantine protocols which require a minimum of 14 days quarantine at home,” the Thursday, Aug. 13 press release states. “That quarantine period can be extended if the employee continues to experience active symptoms of COVID-19.”

Of the six officers who came down with the virus, three were assigned to the Greensboro jail and one was assigned to the High Point Jail, while the other two were assigned to non-jail duties at the time of the infections.

“The part-time Officer in High Point and the two Officers assigned to non-Jail duties had no contact with inmates or fellow Detention Officers at the time they (the Officers) might have been infectious,” the press release states. “As a result, they posed no health risk to our inmates or other employees.”

The other three officers, however, did have contact with inmates in the jail –as well as with fellow officers there – during the time they may have been infectious. As a result, Guilford County health department staff performed contact-tracing to identify any inmates and officers who could have been exposed.

The jail is now taking more precautions to prevent the spread of the disease in the jails. All the county’s detention officers are required to wear masks while on duty inside the jails and all inmates in the Greensboro Detention Center have been provided with masks.

 

About