Jail sees second-biggest outbreak of pandemic
Highest surge in cases since July; 76 inmates, six staffers infected
DUBLIN >> Alameda County’s jail is seeing its biggest outbreak of COVID-19 cases since July, according to sheriff’s officials.
As of Thursday, 76 inmates and six staff members at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin had the virus, down from a peak of 109 inmates and 12 staff or contractors in December, the Sheriff’s Office said. The jail currently has 2,124 inmates as its population has risen closer to the pre-pandemic 2,597 of March 1.
The biggest spike in cases happened in July, when 110 inmates tested positive along with a dozen staff members, and other smaller spikes were seen in August with 25 inmates and September with 18.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said that although all new inmates are quarantined for two weeks before being released into the general population, “It doesn’t take much” in a close congregate setting for the virus to spread.
Kelly said the latest surge likely was introduced by a jail employee or contractor.
“There’s multiple people trying to prevent the spread. I think we got our hands on it now,” Kelly said Thursday.
He said the Sheriff’s Office is doing “serial testing” in an area of the jail where the spread of the virus is suspected. He pointed out that 67 of the 76 inmates currently infected are showing no symptoms.
But jail activists, including civil rights attorneys and public defenders, are not convinced the Sheriff’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office and the courts are doing enough to prevent the spread. They consistently have called for better coronavirus prevention measures in the jail and the release of vulnerable inmates to prevent further spread.
Last week, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and the Decarcerate Alameda County coalition sent a letter to the head of the Alameda County Public Health Department making the same appeal.
“Our concerns are simplified by a steadily increasing Santa Rita Jail population, which is now near pre-pandemic levels,” the letter said. “While the well-being of our community members inside Santa Rita Jail is sufficient to warrant immediate action, the health of our surrounding communities is impacted by Santa Rita Jail’s in
fection control practices as well.”
Jose Bernal, the organizing manager with the Ella Baker Center, met with county health officials Monday.
“I think they’re committed to listening and showing up. They heard our concerns. We’ll wait and see what happens,” Bernal said in an interview.
The advocates would like to see a reduction in the number of inmates who have 18 months or less sentence time left. They’d also like to see law enforcement
do more citing and releasing, especially of people whose immunity to viruses are compromised.
“The pandemic and COVID has not gone away. If anything, it’s more contagious now and the impact is more severe,” Bernal said.
Since March, the jail has seen 420 positive COVID-19 cases, although so far no inmate has died and only two were hospitalized, according to the Sheriff’s Office. A total of 93 jail staff or contractors also have contracted the virus since March. One deputy, Os
car Rocha, who worked with the Sheriff’s Office 25 years, died after it was suspected he contracted the virus from the jail.
A third-party consultant has been overseeing the jail’s handling of COVID-19 cases as a result of a federal lawsuit against Alameda County over jail conditions. In a random August spot check of the jail, the consultant found the jail was doing a decent job in following both county health and federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.