Rochester, NY (December 27, 2021) – As we’ve seen throughout the pandemic, when the community rate of infection rises, the number of COVID-19 cases inside of the Monroe County Jail also rises. As of this afternoon, MCSO reports there are 87 COVID positive cases inside of the Monroe County Jail out of a total jail population of 701. MCSO has since the beginning of the pandemic, taken a proactive approach to dealing with the spread of the virus within our facility.
MCSO tests 100% of its inmates weekly which is something not done in most locations. Our medical staff are working to bring supplemental medical personnel from other districts to our facility. Of the 87 COVID positive inmates, 45 are symptomatic with mild symptoms and zero hospitalizations. MCSO has completed a total of 24,021 tests to the inmate population since 11/20/2020.
As another form of mitigation, we have continued to test our staff on a regular basis. MCSO set up an in house test facility to test all members prior to entering the facility. Between December 21, 2020 and December 26, 2021, our in house testing facility has completed 21,490 tests and caught 122 positives prior to the person entering the facility. We continue to test and quarantine all inmates as they enter the facility. The inmate is then periodically tested during the 14 day quarantine period before being released to general population. Recently, we began testing kitchen and commissary personnel every other day.
MCSO has actively worked with the Monroe County Department of Health to provide vaccinations to all inmates that would like one. Currently, 189 out of the 701 inmates inside of MCJ are vaccinated. MCSO has vaccinated a total of 334 inmates while they were incarcerated at MCJ with 10 of those vaccinations being administered today. MCSO continues to work with the Monroe County Department of Health and PrimeCare (our medical provider) to insure that we are using the best practices to mitigate the spread of the virus.
Each inmate within the facility has a tablet that they can use to communicate with family. Inmates have the ability to make phone calls, send text messages and read books as a way of keeping the stress level down while being incarcerated during a pandemic. MCSO in conjunction with Securus (our contracted telephone provider), has continued to offer two free 15 minute telephone calls and one free video visitation per week for inmates. Please continue to follow our MCJ COVID Dashboard at https://www.monroecounty.gov/sheriffjail-covid19 for more updated information. If family has any questions about their loved one, they can call the Monroe County Jail at 753-4021.