Jasper County jail reports its first confirmed COVID case. Quarantine implemented
Roughly a year after COVID-19 spread to South Carolina, the Jasper County Detention Center confirmed its first case of the virus inside the facility Thursday.
An inmate who was not showing symptoms tested positive earlier this week after previously testing negative twice, a county news release said.
After the positive test, jail staff identified three other inmates who were showing symptoms consistent with the illness.
County officials are working with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and have put quarantine procedures and testing in place.
“Unfortunately, after almost a year of proactive COVID preventative measures, it managed to sneak into our facility. We hope to limit the spread internally and resume normal operations at the end of our 14-day quarantine,” detention center director Arthur Benjamin said in the release. “Our priorities are to ensure the health, safety, and security of our detainees and staff; stop the virus from spreading any further within the facility; and provide medical care for those who are ill.”
The jail has been averaging about 50 inmates at a time in recent months, which is lower than normal because of the pandemic. This week there were 53.
Nearby, the state-run Ridgeland Correctional Institution had its first confirmed case in July and the Beaufort County Detention Center had its first case in August.
