Coronavirus outbreak at George County jail is largest in MS with 229 cases so far
The single largest outbreak of coronavirus cases to date at a Mississippi prison or jail has now been confirmed at the George County Regional Correctional Facility in Lucedale.
On Wednesday, the Mississippi Department of Corrections said 126 state inmates and 7 employees at the George County jail have now tested positive for the virus.
In addition, Sheriff Keith Havard said, there area additional positive cases that came in since then, bringing the total number of cases among staff and prisoners to 229 cases and counting. Some results, he said, are still pending.
Of those infected with the virus, Havard said, two have been taken to the George County Regional Medical Center, where they were treated and returned to the jail.
“The good thing is the symptoms have been mostly a very light fever and body aches,” he said. “It started out really scary, but I do believe we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel because everything appears to be rolling along pretty smoothly.”
To help prevent the spread the virus, the jail is being deep-cleaned daily and Havard is working with emergency management officials to get additional personal protective gear for prisoners and staff.
Prisoners who have the virus are under quarantine and kept in the same area of the jail, he said.
Unless hospitalization is needed, inmates with the virus are being treated by the jail’s nurse, Havard said.
An officer who was sick with the virus but didn’t realize it is believed to have first introduced the virus into the jail.
“We are doing everything we can, and the most important thing is keep out staff and our inmates safe,” Havard said. “We are going to do the best we can to end this as soon as we can. We are going to be transparent about this.”
Since the first COVID-19 diagnosis in Mississippi in March, the state has seen a drastic increase in cases day-after-day.
On Wednesday, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported a total of 54,406 confirmed cases of new coronavirus and 1,524 deaths.
On Tuesday, George County had 256 cases and 5 deaths, but those numbers grew Wednesday to 378 cases.
According to MDOC, a total of 272 state inmates have tested positive for the virus.
Here’s a breakdown of total cases for each facility:
43 — Mississippi State Prison at Parchman
41 — Central Mississippi Correctional Facility at Pearl
9 — East Central Correctional Facility in Meridian
1 —Bolivar County Correctional Institute
1 — Washington County Correctional institute
2 — Carroll-Montgomery County Correctional Facility
14 — Marion-Walthall County Correctional Facility
18 — Winston-Choctaw County Correctional Facility
3 — Delta Correctional Facility
14 — Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 5:55 PM.
