The San Luis Obispo County Jail is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak.
It reportedly began Dec. 26 and as of Thursday, 59 inmates and 23 custody personnel had tested positive, according to the sheriff’s office.
Officials say most symptoms appear to be mild and no inmates have been hospitalized.
Measures being taken to help mitigate the spread of the virus in the jail include:
- Testing all inmates when they enter the jail
- Offering vaccinations to inmates and staff
- Isolating inmates who test positive and quarantining others who have been exposed
- Making video visitations and remote court appearances available to inmates along with other self-guided programs
- Reducing non-essential workers, volunteers and visitors at the jail
- Requiring masks for staff and making them available to inmates during movement within the facility
- Weekly testing of all staff no matter their vaccination status. The sheriff’s office says this exceeds minimum state requirements
The Santa Barbara County Jail is also experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak. As of Thursday, 218 cases had been linked to the outbreak, which began Dec. 8.