Seeing effects of omicron variant surge, Wilmington-area jails work to vaccinate inmates

Jamey Cross, Wilmington StarNews
·2 min read

Jails in the Cape Fear area are seeing the effects of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases — largely due to the contagiousness of the omicron variant.

Lt. Jerry Brewer, spokesperson for the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office, said 64 inmates tested positive for COVID-19 in January — nearly 12% of the roughly 540 inmates there. Additionally, 15 staff members reported positive tests last month.

Brewer said this number reflects a slight increase in cases compared to last year, due to the increased contagiousness of the variant.

With the recent rise of the omicron variant, Cape Fear-area jails are working to curb the spread of COVID-19 among inmates.
With the recent rise of the omicron variant, Cape Fear-area jails are working to curb the spread of COVID-19 among inmates.

By the beginning of February, New Hanover County reported a 37.4% positivity rate — up from 31% reported in mid-January and well above the state’s positivity rate of 24.2%.

The Pender County Jail saw positive cases among 35% of its 72 inmates with 26 positive cases by mid-January, according to Randy King, Pender County Jail administrator.

According to the North Carolina Department of Corrections, prisons across the state saw a surge in positive cases in January. By mid-month, the state was reporting more than 100 positive cases among offenders each day.

Emily Flax, public information officer for the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, said the Brunswick County Jail didn’t see much of an increase in cases last month — by Jan. 31, just one of the facility’s 241 inmates was positive for the virus.

“Our numbers have remained very low,” Flax said. “Our detention facility staff has done an amazing job keeping it at bay by simply following protocol.”

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King said about 33% of the inmate population has been fully vaccinated — which reflects a rate lower than the 51% of the county’s population that has been fully vaccinated, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. King said all inmates are tested for COVID-19 upon entry and offered the vaccine.

Brewer said the jail offers vaccinations to inmates and worked with the New Hanover County Health Department to begin administering booster shots to vaccinated inmates in early January.

Brewer said the New Hanover County Jail has been unable to accurately track the number of vaccinated individuals. If someone enters the facility and says they’ve been vaccinated, but don’t have a vaccination record card to prove it, Brewer said there’s no way to track it accurately.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington-area jails working to curb the spread of COVID-19