The number of Harris County Sheriff’s Office employees diagnosed with coronavirus has reached 207, including 180 who work in the jail.
There are currently 387 Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies, detention officers and support staff on quarantine for possible COVID-19 exposure.
As of Tuesday, 257 previously quarantined employees have returned to duty, including 47 who had tested positive for the virus. Eight Sheriff’s Office employees are currently hospitalized because of the virus.
The Sheriff’s Office is working with Harris County Public Health to identify co-workers, inmates, and members of the public who may have had close contact with the diagnosed employees so they can take necessary precautions, including quarantine and testing for those with symptoms.
A recent expansion of testing -- which now includes inmates who do not have symptoms of COVID-19, but are believed to have been exposed to the virus – has helped medical staff identify 308 infected inmates. About 30% of inmates who have tested positive so far do not have any symptoms. Fifty-seven inmates who previously tested positive for coronavirus have recovered. One inmate is in the hospital.