57 inmates test positive for COVID-19 at Lake County Jail

Fifty-seven inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 since last week at the Lake County Jail — a facility that previously had not tallied a single confirmed case among those in custody, a spokesman for the Sheriff ’s Office said Friday.

Lt. John Herrell said officials began widespread testing June 4, after two women started showing symptoms associated with the new coronavirus. Men who are a part of the jail’s inmate work crews also started showing symptoms over the weekend, prompting testing among male inmates as well, Herrell said.

“Test results began coming back on June 8 and at this point, we have a total of 57 confirmed cases,” Herrell said in an email.

In total, 206 inmates have been tested since June 4, Herrell said. Eight tests remain pending.

The 57 positive inmates no longer have symptoms, according to Herrell, though they are still being housed separately from those who have not tested positive.

The jail’s screening process, which has been in place since March, requires everyone to undergo a temperature check and quarantine for 14 days upon being booked into the facility. The jail has also stopped transfers to or from other facilities and suspended inmate visitations and other inhouse inmate programs, Herrell said.

The Orange County Jail reported its first positive case among inmates this week. One inmate at the Seminole County Jail tested positive for COVID-19 last month.