The latest: COVID-19 cases at the Bexar County Jail, Bexar County Sheriff’s Office

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar updates latest testing among inmates at jail

Bexar County Sheriff's Office (Joshua Saunders, KSAT)

SAN ANTONIOUpdate (May 26, 2020)

The outbreak at the Bexar County Jail continues to improve, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Tuesday.

A total of 401 inmates have tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic, Salazar said. Of those cases, 93 remain active.

More than 2,000 inmates have been tested. A total of 69 deputies have also been infected, and so fare, 48 have fully recovered, Salazar said.

Update (May 18, 2020)

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Monday that there are nearly 100 more cases of coronavirus in the Bexar County Jail from last week.

A total of 392 inmates have tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic, Salazar said in a news conference. He added that 1,620 inmates have been tested, with 1,016 receiving negative results.

Thirteen inmates are in the recovery unit, 20 previously positive COVID-19 inmates have been released and 62 inmates have made full recoveries. There has been one death.

Salazar said there are 296 active cases.

We “seem to be holding steady for now,” he said, adding that there is a higher level of testing.

The newest tally is a large increase following Thursday’s update. On Thursday, Salazar reported 297 total positive cases.

Update (May 14, 2020)

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said there are 44 new positive cases of coronavirus among inmates in the Bexar County Jail, bringing the total of current, positive cases among inmates to 297. Salazar said he is awaiting results on 13 pending cases.

Salazar said 223 of the 297 cases are asymptomatic. He blamed the spike in cases due to mass testing that is being conducted at the jail. Salazar said that 1,300 inmates have been tested so far.

The sheriff said 64 inmates have recovered, none are currently hospitalized and 14 have been released from custody.

Salazar said 35 deputies have tested positive for the virus and that 29 have recovered.

Update (April 29, 2020)

Five Bexar County Sheriff’s Office deputies and 34 jail inmates tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of positive cases to 41 deputies and 98 inmates, BCSO officials said.

Nearly 100 inmates have now tested positive for the virus. So far, only 20 have recovered.

Fourteen deputies and one civilian have also recovered from the virus.

In all, there are still 107 active cases among the deputies and the inmates, according to the numbers provided Wednesday by the sheriff’s office.

Update (April 28, 2020)

Two Bexar County Sheriff’s Office deputies and two jail inmates tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of positive cases to 36 deputies and 64 inmates, BCSO officials said.

Thirteen deputies and one civilian who initially tested positive for COVID-19 made a full recovery and returned to duty after having been medically cleared. Currently, 23 deputies have COVID-19, officials said.

Furthermore, six inmates who initially tested positive for COVID-19 have been relocated to the Recovery Unit, which now makes for a total of 20 inmates. Inmates in the Recovery Unit will remain there under medical observation for an additional 7 days until they are symptom free.

To date, a total of 64 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, in addition to a total of 36 deputies, one video visitation civilian employee, one dispatcher, one laundry tech, one Bexar County facilities maintenance employee, one Bexar County fleet maintenance employee, one Aramark employee, and 5 UHS employees have tested positive for COVID-19.

Update (April 27, 2020)

Two Bexar County Sheriff’s Office deputies and two jail inmates tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of positive cases to 34 deputies and 62 inmates, BCSO officials said.

Thirteen deputies and one civilian who initially tested positive for COVID-19 made a full recovery and returned to duty after having been medically cleared. Currently, 21 deputies are positive with COVID-19, officials said.

Twenty inmates who initially tested positive for COVID-19 have been relocated from the Infirmary to the Recovery Unit, where they will remain under medical observation for seven more days until they are symptom free.

In addition to the deputies and jail inmates, one video visitation civilian employee, one dispatcher, one laundry tech, one Bexar County facilities maintenance employee, one Bexar County fleet maintenance employee, one Aramark employee and five UHS employees have tested positive for COVID-19.

Update (April 26, 2020):

One more Bexar County Sheriff’s Office deputy, one Aramark employee and two inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, officials announced on Sunday.

Twelve deputies, 11 inmates and one civilian have made a full recovery from the virus so far, the BCSO said. The inmates have been taken to a recovery unit and are under medical observation for an extra seven days until they are no longer symptomatic.

As of Sunday, there are 20 deputies that are currently battling the virus.

Those that have tested positive for the virus include a total of 59 inmates, 32 deputies, one video visitation civilian employee, one dispatcher, one laundry tech, one facilities maintenance employee, one fleet maintenance employee, one Aramark employee and five UHS employees.

Every employee at the jail is being tested for the virus by the BCSO, the University Health System and San Antonio Fire Department.

Officials are working to also sanitize the facility daily and are replacing surgical masks for inmates and deputies as needed.

Update (April 24, 2020):

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Administration reported that 21 Bexar County Jail inmates tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday.

The sheriff’s office said the 21 inmates that tested positive for the virus are asymptomatic but will remain in a unit under lockdown. Six inmates that are waiting for test results were relocated and placed under medical observation.

Four UHS employees assigned to the jail have also tested positive for the virus, according to the BCSO.

A criminal investigator with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has tested positive for COVID-19 as well, officials confirmed Friday.

The investigator has not been in the office since April 17, officials said. Three other employees who worked alongside the deputy will be working from home for seven days while monitoring symptoms.

Distancing measures had already been set in place within the CID offices prior to the deputy testing positive, according to the news release. The area where the deputy works has been sanitized immediately upon the positive test result notification.

The deputy is among 31 others who tested positive. However, this deputy did not work in the jail, where COVID-19 has been spreading among jailers and inmates.

There are 19 deputies that are still COVID-19 positive. Of those 19 deputies, 12 of them and one civilian have made a full recovery and are returning to work.

Eleven inmates that tested positive for COVID-19 have been relocated from the Infirmary to the Recovery Unit, according to officials. These inmates will remain in the unit for seven days until they are symptom free.

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.

Update (April 23, 2020):

Two additional Bexar County sheriff’s deputies and two inmates tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.

As of Thursday, 12 deputies and one civilian that tested positive for the virus have made a full recovery and are returning to duty after being medically cleared, officials said.

There are 19 deputies that are still COVID-19 positive.

The sheriff’s office said 11 inmates that tested positive for the virus were relocated from the infirmary to the recovery unit. They will be under medical observation for an extra seven days until they are symptom free, according to officials.

As of Thursday, the BCSO said 36 inmates have tested positive for the virus, 31 deputies, 1 video visitation civilian employee, one dispatcher, one laundry tech, one facilities maintenance employee, one UHS nurse and one Bexar County fleet maintenance employee.

Update (April 22, 2020)

Two more Bexar County Sheriff’s Office deputies and five more Bexar County Jail Inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, BCSO officials said.

A total of 10 deputies who initially tested positive for COVID-19 have made a full recovery and have returned to duty after being medically cleared.

Currently, 19 deputies have tested positive with COVID-19.

In addition, 11 inmates who initially tested positive for COVID-19 have been relocated from the Infirmary to the Recovery Unit. The inmates will remain in this unit under medical observation for an extra 7 days until they are symptom free.

To date, a total of 34 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, in addition to a total of 29 deputies, one video visitation civilian employee, one dispatcher, one laundry tech, one Bexar County facilities maintenance employee, one UHS nurse, and one Bexar County fleet maintenance employee have tested positive for COVID-19.

Update (April 21, 2020):

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar told the Commissioners Court Tuesday that two additional deputies and one additional inmate have tested positive for COVID-19.

He gave the commissioners an update during a meeting on Tuesday, adding that five deputies have recovered and returned to duty.

A total of 27 deputies and 29 inmates have tested positive so far, Salazar said. Eleven inmates have been sent to a recovery unit.

The jail’s inmate population has decreased from 3,861 inmates to 3,018, resulting in a $40,000 savings, he said.

Any incoming inmates are required to quarantine for 14 days, he said.

BCSO previously confirmed that one video visitation civilian employee, one dispatcher, one laundry tech, one Bexar County facilities maintenance employee, one UHS nurse and one Bexar County fleet maintenance employee have tested positive for the virus.

Update (April 20, 2020):

Five Bexar County Sheriff’s Office employees and eight more inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, according to officials.

Of the five employees that tested positive, four are detention deputies and one is a civilian that was assigned to the clothing section at the jail, BCSO said.

Two deputies that did test positive for the virus have fully recovered and one deputy returned to work on Monday. The other deputy will return to work on Tuesday, officials said.

A total of 11 inmates that tested positive have been relocated to the Recovery Unit, which is being used to house inmates that have tested positive. The 11 inmates have been symptom free for seven days and will stay in the unit for another seven days under medical observation, officials said. If they remain symptom free, they will then be relocated to where their custody level allows, the BCSO said.

As of Monday, a total of 28 inmates have tested positive for the virus, 24 deputies are positive, one video visitation civilian employee, one dispatcher, one laundry tech, one Bexar County facilities maintenance employee, one UHS nurse and one Bexar County fleet maintenance employee, the BCSO reports.

We’ll bring more updates as they become available.

Update (April 19, 2020):

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office confirms that five additional inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, as of Sunday.

The inmates were recently relocated to the infirmary for medical observation. They developed a fever over 100 degrees and were then tested for the virus, according to the sheriff’s office.

This brings the total number of inmates with COVID-19 to 20, in addition to 21 deputies, one video visitation civilian employee, one dispatcher, one Bexar County facilities maintenance employee, one UHS nurse and one Bexar County fleet maintenance employee, according to the BCSO.

We’ll bring more updates as they become available.

Update (April 17, 2020):

Five more inmates at the Bexar County Jail have tested positive for COVID-19, according to county officials.

As of Friday, the jail currently has 15 inmates that have tested positive for the virus, 21 deputies, one video visitation civilian employee, a BCSO dispatcher, a Bexar County Facilities Maintenance employee and a University Health System’s nurse, according to officials.

All five of the inmates were already taken to the infirmary for medical observation before testing positive, officials say.

Officials say inmates have their temperatures taken daily by University Health Systems staff and are required to wear masks at all times.

The corresponding units are on quarantine for 14 days as well, according to jail officials.

Officials say the BCSO’s Inmate Worker program has been shut down out of caution, as an inmate worker may have been exposed to the virus.

Meals for inmates are also being prepared off-site and delivered to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office out of precaution, officials say.

We’ll bring more updates as they become available.

Update (April 16, 2020):

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that two additional inmates at the Bexar County Jail have tested positive for COVID-19.

Both inmates were already in the infirmary before testing positive for the virus, BCSO said in a statement.

This brings the total number of inmates who have tested positive to 10. In all cases, BCSO is conducting contact tracing.

3rd San Antonio firefighter tests positive for COVID-19, officials say

The department also said Thursday that a fleet maintenance mechanic who worked on BCSO vehicles has also tested positive. That worker, who is not employed by BCSO, had minimal contact with deputies.

The vehicles that the mechanic worked on have been fully sanitized, BCSO said.

As of Thursday, 20 detention deputies, a video visitation civilian employee, a dispatcher and a maintenance employee have tested positive for the virus.

6th SAPD officer tests positive for COVID-19, officials say

Original (April 14, 2020):

Six inmates at the Bexar County Jail have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.

The six new cases bring to the total number of inmates who have tested positive for COVID-19 to eight.

According to a news release, BCSO officials are working to trace how each inmate contracted the illness.

Several inmates who recently developed a fever over 100℉ or had flu-like symptoms, which prompted their relocation to the infirmary for further medical observation. Inmates who test positive for COVID-19 are housed in single cells at the infirmary.

2nd inmate at Bexar County Jail tests positive for COVID-19, sheriff’s office says

The inmates were tested for the virus after being taken to the infirmary, and test results showed came back positive for COIVD-19. Medical staff learned at least one of the inmates who tested positive didn’t display any symptoms.

According to the news release, all inmates at the jail have been provided surgical masks and all sheriff’s employees working at the jail are wearing personal protective equipment. Facility disinfectant procedures are also in place, common areas are chemically disinfected daily and high traffic areas, such as the booking section, are being disinfected every shift.

University Health Systems staff will be screening all jail inmates daily by administering temperature checks and identifying inmates who may have COVID-19 related symptoms. Those who are symptomatic and those who have tests pending are separated from the rest of the jail population.

First inmate at Bexar County Jail tests positive for COVID-19, sheriff says

In addition to the inmates, 14 deputies, two civilian employees, one Bexar County Facilities maintenance employee and a UHS nurse assigned to the jail have also tested positive for COVID-19.

COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE FROM KSAT: