Harris County Sheriff’s Office Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Reaches 32

The number of Harris County Sheriff’s Office employees diagnosed with coronavirus now stands at 33 as the infection rate among those assigned to work inside the state’s largest county jail continues to climb.

As of Wednesday, 24 Sheriff’s Office jail staffers had tested positive for COVID-19. These numbers include three medical workers. Outside the jail, eight patrol deputies have now tested positive for the virus, including Sgt. Raymond Scholwinski, who is hospitalized in critical condition.

There are currently 204 Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies, detention officers and support staff on quarantine for possible COVID-19 exposure. Two of these employees are currently in the hospital. Seventy-five previously quarantined employees have now been cleared to return to duty. Seventy-three Sheriff’s Office employees have been tested, but are still awaiting results. Twenty-two employees have received negat ive test results.

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.

As of Wednesday, four inmates in the Harris County Jail have tested positive for COVID-19. An additional 58 inmates are in quarantine with symptoms indicative of the virus and are awaiting test results. The number of inmates on observational quarantine without symptoms because they were possibly exposed to someone with the virus now stands at 1,191.

All jail employees have been issued protective masks and are instructed to wear them while on duty. All inmates have also been issued masks. Regular temperature checks are performed daily on all employees as they report for duty.

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