JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — (The video above is from a related report on Friday, July 9)
A resurgence of COVID-19 at the Duval County Jail is currently impacting thousands of inmates.
As of 8 a.m. on Monday, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said there are 103 confirmed COVID-19 cases in all Department of Corrections facilities.
Additionally, there several dorms are on “precautionary status” impacting 2,389 inmates to further limit contact and protect the health of the remaining population.
As a comparison, in July of 2020, JSO says the jail experienced its highest levels of COVID-19 with 449 positive cases.
RELATED: Virus resurgence at Duval Jail scrambles court operations, two-thirds of inmates in COVID quarantine
“There has been no change in the CDC guidelines being followed within our all of correctional housing facilities," said Sheriff Mike Williams in an emailed statement. "Furthermore, our staff continues the COVID-19 mitigation protocols which includes testing inmates upon admission and anytime they exhibit symptoms."
Williams says inmates that are confirmed COVID-19 positive are removed from the general inmate population and quarantined to prevent further spread.
"We have an onsite medical provider that monitors our inmate population, however, inmates requiring hospital care due to COVID-19 or any other health condition are transported to local area hospitals," says Williams. "All areas of our facilities are regularly cleaned and disinfected in accordance with CDC guidance and all persons within the facilities are required to wear masks; inmates included."
On Friday of last week, 4th Circuit Chief Judge Mark Mahon told First Coast News that two-thirds of jail inmates were currently on COVID quarantine, which is complicating efforts to get criminal court calendars moving again.
"It's very disappointing," he told First Coast News. "We thought we were going to be back to full operations." Instead, he said, "It's kind of back to two steps forward, one step back."
According to a Friday morning memo from Circuit Judge Adrian Soud, defendants must be rapid tested before their final pre-trial appearance, and again right before jury selection. If they test positive, the trial will be postponed.
After a year and a half of Zoom court, the Duval County Courthouse ended virtual court just in the past few weeks. Misdemeanor court resumed in-person proceedings on June 28, and felony court resumed on June 21.