Number Of Infected Bexar County Jail Inmates on the Rise



photo of jail uniform shirt
Bexar County Jail

6 More inmates Test Positive

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office released a statement saying that six more inmates had tested positive for COVID-19. That brings the total to eight infected inmates. However, there are five tests still pending. That’s just the situation at the current time. The number is bound to go up. But we’ve gotten some good news.

According to the daily briefing that Judge Wolff and Mayor Nirenberg gave, the prediction is that we will peak in late April to mid May. Of course, that’s if we continue to wear masks, wash hands, sanitize our environment and continue social distancing. If the models hold true, we will have Judge Wolff and Mayor Nirenberg to thank for their quick action, along with D.A. Gonzales who helped get low-level, non-violent offenders out of jail. At the current time we have 14 deputies and 3 civilians at the Bexar County Jail who have tested positive. There has also been a University Health System nurse who is stationed at the jail, who has tested positive and a county maintenance man from the Facilities department, who is stationed at the jail and has tested positive.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice Issues New Directive

That the models show we should be hitting our peak soon is a good thing, not only for the obvious reasons, but also because of the new directive that was issued by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. On Saturday, the Department of Criminal Justice sent a letter to all sheriffs stating that they will no longer accept inmates coming from a county jail. The state prison system is having its own issues with trying to protect inmates in their system and doesn’t want to bring in more infected inmates. There has already been a lawsuit filed against TDCJ by two inmates in the Pack Unit, which is a geriatric unit. Since that time, an inmate in the Pack Unit has died from COVID-19.

According to the article in the Texas Tribune, 

“Bryan Collier, the executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said in a letter to county sheriffs Saturday that he recognized the move would put an additional strain on counties, but he said the action is necessary. The new coronavirus has been confirmed in at least 10 county jails, and the number of state prisoners infected nearly doubled in one day last week.”

This move by the Department of Criminal Justice came as a surprise to no one. It’s just a smart move but it does add more of a burden onto county jails. People who would normally be sent on to TDCJ will be staying in the Bexar County Jail. More people in jail means more people who can get infected.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Bexar County’s Latest Stats

As of Monday, Bexar County had a total of 815 people who had tested positive for the coronavirus. We did not have any additional deaths so the death total remains at 33 people. There have been approximately 11,000 people who have been tested for the virus. We have 76% availability of ventilators and 41% availability of beds.

The San Antonio Police Department has five Officers who have tested positive for the virus. They also have 13 officers and 7 civilians who are under quarantine. In addition, the City of San Antonio has one firefighter who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *