Zero COVID-19 ‘symptomatic inmates’ at Chatham detention center, sheriff’s office says

Posted
Updated:

The spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, has put an onus on congregate living facilities to bolster their sanitation and cleaning efforts to help limit the spread of the virus.

The state Department of Public Safety has put a number of extra steps into procedure and policy, and the Chatham County Detention Center in Pittsboro is no different. Sheriff’s Office lawyer Rik Stevens said earlier this week that the facility has had “no symptomatic detainees so far.”

“We take the safety and health of our inmate population very seriously here in Chatham County,” Stevens said in an email to the News + Record. “We are very proud of the consistently high quality of our detention operations here in Chatham County.”

Other correctional facilities around the state have not been as fortunate. As of Wednesday, detention centers in Granville, Greene, Halifax, Johnston, Pasquotank and Wayne counties have announced COVID-19 outbreaks — meaning that two or more laboratory-confirmed cases have been found in the facility. Three inmates have died at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, in Granville County, from COVID-19 complications.

DPS has put into place several procedures within the last two weeks to deal with what an April 13 press release called an “unprecedented crisis.” Those changes include suspending all visitation, volunteering and work release opportunities, conducting medical screenings for staff and new offenders when they enter the facility, ending acceptance of transfers from county jails for 14 days and “dramatically reducing the movement of efforts within the prison system.”

DPS added that “despite these efforts,” more than 35 offenders at six facilities and 20 staff at 10 locations have tested positive for COVID-19.

“The department has been reviewing all options to protect public safety as well as our employees and those in the state’s custody,” Public Safety Secretary Erik Hooks said in the news release. “Many of those options were implemented quickly, providing immediate impact, while others have required more preparation.” 

Stevens provided some specific policies currently in place at the Chatham County Detention Center:

• Video-only visits with inmates since March 10

• No vendors, volunteers or non-essential staff at the facility since March 10

• Checking temperatures of all officers, with those over 100.4 degrees “relieved of duty until asymptomatic”

• Educational information about disease prevention and cleaning efforts displayed throughout the facility

• Newly-admitted detainees checked for fever of 100.4 and other symptoms; if found, quarantined for 96 hours without symptoms before admission to general population

Stevens said the detention center has been “routinely rated as one of the best-run and cleanest facilities in the State.” A Sheriff’s Office news release from February said the facility recently “received its sixth consecutive ‘no deficiencies’ rating during bi-annual jail inspections. These inspections are all-inclusive and require careful planning, preparation, and teamwork from all Detention Center staff.”

Additionally, Siler City is home to the Chatham Youth Development Center, a 32-bed complex that serves male and female juveniles. DPS said in an April 14 release that there were no confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state’s juvenile justice facilities.

Across the state, DPS has begun moving some non-violent offenders who meet certain criteria into “community supervision.” The eligible individuals “cannot have been convicted or a violent crime against a person” and must belong to a group including pregnant offenders, those age 65 and older with underlying health conditions and multiple groups with a release date this year.

The first individuals, six females either pregnant or 65 or older, were released on April 9.

“We do not take these new measures lightly,” said Tim Moose, Chief Deputy Secretary of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice. “Our staff are working in accordance with CDC guidelines, while being mindful of adult risk management, as well as reentry best practices in order to identify and transition adult offenders into our communities in a safe and efficient manner.”

Reporter Zachary Horner can be reached at zhorner@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @ZachHornerCNR.