By Kelsey Bradshaw
Austin American-Statesman
AUSTIN, Texas — While visitation has been cut off to Central Texas jails to combat the new coronavirus, few test kits are available to inmates and some jails don’t have kits at all.
Travis County, which is housing an inmate population of about 2,033 people this week, was expected to have 100 testing kits for COVID-19, the disease linked to the coronavirus, as early as Thursday, said Kristen Dark, spokeswoman for the Travis County sheriff’s office, which manages the jails.
The kits will be dispersed to medical staffs in the Travis County Jail in downtown Austin and the Travis County Correctional Complex in Del Valle. As of Thursday, two inmates were cleared from quarantine and one was still under observation, according to the sheriff’s office.
The three quarantined inmates were not tested for COVID-19, and as of Wednesday, Austin Public Health officials have not deemed a test necessary for any of the inmates the jail has contacted them about, Dark said.
Jails in Hays and Williamson counties have no test kits on hand for COVID-19 and would instead have to send an inmate to a hospital, county officials said this week.
Outside of jails, the city of Austin has so far received about 1,000 test kits from the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The city is also expanding its capacity to respond to the coronavirus with more testing sites.
As of Wednesday, Austin health officials reported 23 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Austinites have been encouraged to work from home, when possible, to practice social distancing, wash their hands and call their doctor if they think they have coronavirus-related symptoms, such as a fever, shortness of breath or a persistent dry cough.
Meanwhile in Travis County jails, inmates have access to soap and water in their cells and in common rooms, and jailers have posted signage about good hygiene, Dark said.
The Central Booking facility is being sanitized three times each shift, and hand sanitizer is available at the entrance, a county statement says. A sink has been installed in the sally port of Central Booking so people can wash their hands.
Each person entering a correctional area, including employees, are having their temperature taken. Those with a temperature of 99.6 degrees or higher are not allowed inside, according to the sheriff’s office.
Jail staff use gloves frequently, but they are not wearing masks as part of normal operations, Dark said.
Inmates are only fitted with masks if a medical official in the jail thinks it is necessary.
In-person jail visits in Texas were suspended by Gov. Greg Abbott last week, with the exception of attorney visits. Video visits with inmates in a Travis County jail are being discounted from $5 to $2.50 per visit.
At the Hays County Jail, officials are sanitizing visitation rooms after attorney visits and visits related to parole, probation and bondsmen, Sheriff Gary Cutler said.
For inmates in a Travis County jail, medical fees are being waived for those experiencing symptoms of a respiratory illness, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.
“The epidemiology department with Austin Public Health is our contact for determining who should get tested for COVID-19,” the statement says. “Our Medical Supervisor contacts them regarding anyone we’re concerned about, then follows their directions. At this point they have not recommended anyone be tested.”
Arrestees are asked a series of questions when brought into the booking facility and if anyone is suspected of having COVID-19 symptoms, they are isolated. Inmates that need to be isolated are housed in one of the county’s negative air flow cells, of which there are less than 10.
The Travis County sheriff’s office has four levels of quarantine for the jails depending on different scenarios:
- If an exposed person is booked into a Travis County facility, they will be quarantined in a single-cell, given meals inside the cells, their movement will be restricted and they will be separated from activities during the incubation period.
- If a sick person is identified in a single jail unit, all the inmates in the unit will be quarantined. The group’s movements will be restricted, meals will be given inside cells and they will be separated from activities.
- If multiple sick people are identified in separate areas, all inmates in the exposed facility will be quarantined. Movement to and from the facility will be restricted during the incubation period of the disease.
- If a sick person is identified after movement between facilities while still contagious, all exposed inmates will be quarantined.
WILLIAMSON COUNTY
The Williamson County sheriff’s office released a statement on Wednesday that detailed the efforts the agency is taking to combat the coronavirus.
People coming into the Williamson County Jail, including inmates, officers, attorney and other staff, will go through enhanced medical screening. People who have been newly arrested will be evaluated by medical staff outside of the jail facility. If they have
As of Tuesday evening, the Williamson County Jail had 473 inmates.
Flu and strep tests are available at the jail. Access to the jail is being limited to law enforcement purposes and attorney visits.
When asked what the containment strategies were for inmates, the sheriff’s office said in a statement: “Yes there is a plan for isolating affected inmates and safeguarding the jail facility.”
HAYS COUNTY
At the Hays County Jail, which had 300 inmates on Tuesday afternoon, health care officials are onsite at the jail 24 hours a day, according to Hays County Sheriff Gary Cutler.
The sheriff’s office is working with the district attorney’s office to develop a plan to keep from taking inmates to courts. The courts and the district attorney’s office are also considering using video for hearings for the jail docket, Cutler said.
The sheriff’s office is also in the process of implementing new inmate intake procedures, including screening newly arrested people before they are taken to the jail. They will also be given access to hand sanitizer or a hand-washing station.
All volunteer programs at the Hays County Jail have been suspended and only law enforcement officials are being let into the facility.
Medical costs are being waived for inmates who have flu-like symptoms. Cleaning is also being increased in the jail. Inmates are being given a cleaning cart and additional cleaning supplies to be able to sanitize their living spaces.
Hays County officials are working to provide two free phone calls a week for each inmate in the jail while in-person visitation is still not allowed. The free calls will last for 30 days and then officials will reevaluate.
People with a fever or other COVID-19 symptoms who are being booked into the jail will be diverted to a hospital. If it’s appropriate, officers may be asked to release the person and obtain an arrest warrant, instead, Cutler said. The jail will accept the person once they’ve been cleared by a hospital.
Officials are also limiting the movements in and out of the jail and plan to request the work-release and weekender programs be suspended for 30 days. They also are asking for court commitments to be suspended for 30 days.
Jail officials are preparing to make housing changes in the event a COVID-19 case is confirmed in the jail. The jail’s medical department is identifying inmates older than 60.
“We will be doing random temperature checks of the inmates in custody,” Cutler said in a statement.
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