Health staff responds to Sacramento County Jail COVID outbreak among unvaccinated inmates

Health officials on Friday were investigating a COVID-19 outbreak at both Sacramento County Jail facilities, where a total of 69 out of 3,202 inmates tested positive for the virus.

At the main jail in downtown Sacramento, 32 inmates tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. There were 37 inmates at Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in Elk Grove who tested positive for the respiratory disease.

Sacramento County Public Health and jail health staff were investigating the outbreak, which was confirmed Monday, county officials announced Friday in a news release.

All confirmed COVID-19 cases among inmates in custody involve unvaccinated people, according to the news release.

“All inmates are offered vaccinations and provided education about the benefits of vaccination,” officials said in the news release.

Jail health officials were working to identify the source and mitigate transmission. In addition, contact tracing was being conducted along with large-scale testing at both jail facilities, according to the news release.

Inmates who test positive for COVID-19, those with symptoms but are awaiting test results, inmates who have no symptoms but come into close contact with infected people and new inmates who arrive at the jail facilities are being housed in one of four quarantine jail pods in accordance with health safety protocols.

The quarantined inmates are placed in separate pods based on those criteria.

County officials said any inmates with COVID-19 symptoms are tested, and all those exposed to someone with symptoms also are tested.

“We are working closely with Correctional Health staff to conduct contact tracing and mitigate the spread,” Sacramento County Public Health Officer Olivia Kasirye said in the news release. “Quarantine protocols are in place and extensive testing is being done.”