Health district reports 60 cases of COVID-19 in Middle Georgia jails, prisons

The North Central Health District reported the 60 COVID-19 cases in Middle Georgia jails and prisons in its Monday report.

Thirty-one inmates and 29 staff members have tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to the NCHD, which represents 13 counties in Middle Georgia. Seven people have been hospitalized, and one person has died, the report read.

The Baldwin County State Prison in Milledgeville has the most cases in Middle Georgia with 15 inmate cases and six staff cases as well as the lone death. The Bibb County Jail in Macon has eight cases.

Major Tonnie Williams who oversees the corrections division at the Bibb County Jail contributes the low number of cases to “aggressive” cleaning and the implementation of additional safety precautions, including taking the temperature of all staff and outside vendors before they enter the jail. New inmates are quarantined for 14 days before they are allowed into the general population.

All church services and activities that include visitors have been put on hold. Lawyers can interact with their clients remotely.

“Social distancing is just a very difficult thing to be able to accomplish,” Williams said. “We have virtually minimized all physical contact with the outside world with the inmates that are in our jail.”

The Georgia Department of Corrections also releases numbers for the facilities under it in the state. As of Tuesday, the GDC’s report had 376 cases of COVID-19 in the state’s prisons with 250 inmates who have recovered. There have also been 152 reported staff cases with 72 recoveries.

This story was originally published May 16, 2020 at 2:16 PM.