21 Inmates Test Positive In One Day at the Bexar County Jail
Huge One Day Increase in Infected Inmates
KSAT 12 reported that 21 inmates had tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday. This was the single worst day of testing results to date. In addition to that increase, four more University Health System staff members have tested positive and in something that could have been prevented, an investigator with the Sheriff’s Office also tested positive. See our article about the Sheriff’s role in that COVID-19 case.
Ironically we had just written an article saying that the low numbers were not the real story and that if they started testing everyone the numbers would jump. As it turns out, they tested one full unit were several inmates who had come out of that unit had tested positive. The results of that testing is what caused this jump in numbers. THAT WAS JUST ONE UNIT. All those positive results came out of one unit. The unit was placed on lockdown but how long did they go while the Sheriff’s Office pulled out only people who appeared sick and acted like the rest were fine? The endangerment an mismanagement of this crisis by the Salazar administration is astounding.
Infected Number Rises to 98
According to the KSAT article,
“As of Friday, a total of 57 inmates tested positive for COVID-19, 31 deputies, one video visitation civilian employee, one dispatcher, one laundry tech, one Bexar County facilities maintenance employee, 5 UHS employees, and one Bexar County fleet maintenance employee.”
That comes to a total of 98 individuals infected who are either inmates, employees or individuals assigned to perform their job duties at the Bexar County Jail.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Sheriff’s Office Either Hiding or Not Doing Contact Tracing
On April 19th we wrote an article about the Sheriff Office’s failure to report any results of their contact tracing investigations. They blow the media off with a ‘we’re looking into it’ kind of answer but then we never hear anything more. We are a small information website and can’t compare to the news websites so our story didn’t make much of a splash. KSAT 12 has finally done a story on it. Not that they got any information. The story is on the failure of the Sheriff’s Office to provide information.
According to the story, the San Antonio Police Department released exact numbers on how many people an infected officer came into contact with and that those individuals had been contacted to let them know they may have been exposed.
But the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office won’t release any information. It’s possible that they aren’t doing contact tracing at all but that’s a new low in incompetence, at least as far as we know. I have no doubt they are capable of sinking that low but I don’t think that’s the case this time. I have my theories about it. I think some of that contact tracing will show that people were infected through poor decisions by the Sheriff’s Office. Heck, he did it to one of his own investigators, why would we think he would care about inmates? I think they are hiding the information because it could cause him to lose re-election if the public found out how truly incompetent he really is. That’s just supposition; however, if it’s not the reason, what is?