Update (9:21 pm):
On Tuesday night, the administrator of the Black Hawk County Jail, Capt. Nathan Nafe, released a news release regarding the current situation in the Black Hawk County Jail.
It reads:
“With the recent revelation that four inmates have tested positive for Covid-19, many in the public have expressed sensible concern about the conditions at the Black Hawk County Prison and the steps being taken to keep inmates safe. In an effort to help alleviate some of the concerns of the people, I would like to highlight some of the steps taken to keep the prison safe.
In March we launched an investigation into all the new detainees arriving at the jail and put those who showed symptoms or answered the screening questions in a hurry. The temperature of the staff members began to be taken both at the beginning and end of each shift. By April we began to calm down every prisoner in prison for 14 days. All staff and inmates in the prison’s intake area or in the prison’s satisfaction department were required to wear masks.
Each prisoner and staff member was given a clothing mask (and continued to be given), and each was given the option to wear them after the expiration of a different period. Based on the guidelines for contacting another person, unless you are within 6 minutes of the other person’s footsteps, staff or inmates do not need to wear a mask outside of the above areas because such close, prolonged contact is rare, if ever, there. Is. In essence, staff and inmates are socially far apart.
The system proved to be very effective, as between March 1 and October 27, 3,066 people were registered in prison. The daily population during that time ranged from 111 to 270, currently it is 243. No inmates have recently tested positive for Covid-19. Although the four inmates who tested positive are a very small percentage of our population, we felt it best to increase our safety protocol in an effort to keep the prison population as safe as possible. That’s why all staff and inmates now need to wear masks when they’re socially apart from each other and that’s why we set up the “Rolling Lockdown”.
To keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible while maintaining Carrie’s rights, Sheriff Pfis is working with Black Hawk County Health Department and prison medical provider Nefcare during the epidemic. The public can be assured that we will continue to do so as we move forward. “
Captain Nathan Nef
Prison administrator
Black Hawk County Sheriff’s .Fish
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Original story (10:46 a.m.):
BLACK HAWK COUNTY, Iowa (KWWL) – The Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office is enforcing a fee security protocol after several inmates at the prison tested positive for COVD-19.
Four inmates tested positive for the virus, according to Sheriff Tony Thompson. One prisoner was in the general population and the other three had recently come to the jail and were undergoing standard 1 days of solitary confinement for incoming prisoners. The results of the exam came back last week and all four inmates remained in jail.
“It’s not an outbreak, it’s just worrying,” Thamps told MPS, adding that about 1% of the prison population is 4 positive.
Prison staff have implemented a rolling lockdown to keep half the inmates in the pod at the scheduled time to reduce contact and give more time for cleaning. Half of the inmates are given access to the outside of their cells while the other half stays in their cells. The facility is then cleared and then the inmates are switched on.
“It allows for more social distance space. It allows for more time for cleaning and if we have a problem, we have to contact Trace with fewer people, fewer people have been communicated,” Thompson said.
The general population prisoner who is positively tested has been placed in solitary confinement and officers are awaiting follow-up tests to confirm the results. The general population prisoner had previously tested positive for the epidemic, but a follow-up test determined it to be false positive.
Visits were suspended when exam results came back last week and prison officials planned to do so for 14 days. Once they were able to collaborate with the county’s health department for best practices, the sheriff’s office supported the decision. The visit resumed on Tuesday.
Masks are mandatory for staff and prisoners are required to wear masks when they are out of their cells. Staff will only work with a specific group because Thompson is concerned that an asymptomatic staff member may be carrying the virus. When staff are lured and screened before each shift, those protocols cannot catch an asymptomatic case.
Over the next week, rapid test devices will arrive at the prison that will allow for more frequent and active testing of inmates as well as staff.
