Jail Employee Tests Positive For Coronavirus In Montgomery County

GERMANTOWN, MD — An employee at the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation has tested positive for the new coronavirus, officials announced on Monday.

"Today, our hearts go out to an employee at our Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (DOCR) who has tested positive for COVID-19," County Council President Sidney Katz said. We wish the employee a full and speedy recovery."

The asymptomatic staff member last worked at the correctional facility in Boyds on March 26, officials said. All other employees who had close contact with the patient were told to quarantine.

Inmates who had any interactions with the the infected employee are also receiving daily temperature checks for the next two weeks.

"Similar to other jurisdictions with our significant workforce and inmate population, we understood that this day would come for us," Angela Talley, the department's director, said. "However, I do strongly believe if we follow the protocols, we have in place for receiving inmates, housing inmates, and limiting staff exposure at work and at home, we can reduce our exposure to COVID-19. We continue to work hard every day to protect the safety of our staff and inmates."

Last week, the county's correction department released its plans to contain the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Preventive measures include suspending outside programs and visits, establishing quarantine housing for inmates, and conducting temperature checks for people who enter a facility.

The ACLU of Maryland has asked the department to release more details of their plan and to reduce the number of people in detention.

"Public health experts have been very clear in telling government officials that the most critical thing we must do to mitigate the pressure on our medical system is to significantly reduce the numbers of people in detention to minimize spread of the COVID-19," Meredith Curtis Goode, the organization's communications director, told Patch. "To stop the spread of coronavirus, the number of people in detention of all kinds needs to be dramatically reduced — whether children, the elderly, immigrants, people who can't afford bail, or people whose sentences will end soon."

As of Monday, Maryland has 4,045 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus. Montgomery County, the state's most populous jurisdiction, has a total of 793 cases.

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