A Coast jail reports its first COVID-19 outbreak among inmates

Twenty of the 370 prisoners in the Jackson County jail in Pascagoula have tested positive for COVID-19, Sheriff Mike Ezell said Wednesday in a news release.

Ezell said the inmates are having minor symptoms of the illness.

These are the first confirmed COVID-19 cases in the jail since the pandemic began. Ezell said all recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are being followed in the jail.

New rules were put into place early in the pandemic to limit contact between jail employees and prisoners, the news release says.

Inmates charged with misdemeanors are not being jailed except in cases of domestic violence, DUI/public intoxication, violent or unruly behavior, court-ordered sentences and civil unrest.

Also, no personal, in-house visitation is allowed except by law enforcement officers.

Anita Lee

Sun Herald

601-909-0638

Anita, a Mississippi native, graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and previously worked at the Jackson Daily News and Virginian-Pilot, joining the Sun Herald in 1987. She specializes in in-depth coverage of government, public corruption, transparency and courts. She has won state, regional and national journalism awards, most notably contributing to Hurricane Katrina coverage awarded the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service. Support my work with a digital subscription