About two dozen people lodged in a Southwest Washington jail have tested positive for COVID-19.
Clark County Jail Chief Phil Sample estimated as of Monday morning that between 20 to 25 inmates tested positive out of a facility population of about 340. That means about 7% of the in-custody population tested positive, The Columbian reported.
Sample said staff has isolated the pods with people who have tested positive and that medical staff is checking on them often, if not daily.
The case count Monday was the highest since Sample took over as jail chief in July, he said.
The jail saw an outbreak in the late fall of 2020, with 44 inmates testing positive for COVID-19 by early December.
People in custody are screened for COVID-19 before being booked and they wear masks, according to Sample. He said they’ve been following Clark County Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocol.
No staff members have tested positive, Sample said.