Sheriff reassures families during jail COVID-19 outbreak

Feb. 2—A COVID-19 outbreak in the Boone County Jail has some mothers concerned, but Sheriff Tony Harris reassures families that their loved ones have access to around-the-clock medical care.

Those who test positive for COVID-19 quarantine in their cells, away from healthy inmates, he said.

Shirley Daniels is concerned because inmates with COVID-19 remain in their cell blocks, and she thinks her son's case of the virus could have been prevented. He has a lingering medical condition that may be exacerbated by COVID-19, and she would feel better if inmates were quarantined further from those who are not sick to prevent its spread, she said.

The outbreak that began about a week ago is the jail's first in more than a year, Harris said. It affected six inmates housed in three blocks. Only one of the infected inmates is a woman, Harris said. Three patients have come out of their quarantine. And one jail staff member has been ill, although whether it was COVID-19 was not confirmed as of Thursday.

"He did things he shouldn't have done," Daniels said of her 35-year-old son, adding, "But he shouldn't be subjected to poor health and inhumane conditions ... Somebody needs to care."

Another inmate's mother voiced similar concerns this week, claiming that sick inmates should be separated from the healthy population by more than their block.

Cell blocks house a common area for inmates to socialize or stretch and multiple cells with their own doors and double bunks.

The BCJ and many Indiana jails reduced their inmate populations during the pandemic by not accepting low-level offenders and shifting work release inmates to other arrangements, such as their home or motels. That gave the jails a place to house COVID-19 positive inmates.

But Boone County's work release program has resumed, the jail population has climbed to 170, which is close to pre-COVID-19 numbers, and there is no place to house inmates from various blocks into a new space.

Still, inmates who test positive for the virus are quarantined in their cells. If their cellmate is not ill, he or she will move to another cell with an uninfected inmate, as cells are available. Infected and non-infected inmates eat in shifts to prevent contact and spreading the virus.

Not all jails provide 24-hour, in-house medical care, but the BCJ does. Nurses and doctors check inmates' COVID-19 symptoms in their cells, Harris said. Plus, corrections officers are available 24 hours a day and also monitor inmates' conditions.

"Everyone is doing their jobs, as normal, to make sure we're taking care of the inmates," Harris said. "We're giving them the best care possible that we can in a facility. If something comes up and they need more care, and the nurses and doctors say they need to be transferred to a hospital for further attention, then that's what we do."

Harris said he also welcomes calls and emails from families with concerns about their incarcerated loved one's health or well-being. Email him at AHarris@co.boone.in.us or call 765-482-1412 and choose the prompt for the administrative division.