Jailers in Muskogee warn of “critical mode” as a COVID-19 outbreak has affected half of the jail’s inmates and eight detention center employees.
According to a news release from the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office, the jail on Wednesday had 135 positive cases, none of them “requiring any further treatment or hospitalization.”
“We have contacted all of our community partners, including the hospitals, health department, law enforcement entities and our community leaders, to make them aware of this situation,” Sheriff Andy Simmons’ statement says.
Jails across Oklahoma are taking extra precautions to try to prevent virus spread as the more-contagious delta variant has doubled transmission rates across the state.
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Tulsa County’s jail has nine COVID-positive inmates and 19 infected staff, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Casey Roebuck said Wednesday. The detention center, which averages about 1,200-1,300 inmates per day, has tested 13,541 individuals and had 591 positive results.
Public health officials have stressed the importance of multipronged virus safety measures — including masking, disinfecting and inoculating — in congregate-living situations such as detention centers. Vaccination rates among inmate populations are in most cases even lower than the bottom-trending state average.
