Jail inmate negative for coronavirus

An inmate who was tested for COVID-19 at the Santa Fe County jail last weekend does not have the virus, officials said. The man was identified as having potential symptoms when he was brought to the jail Saturday by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Santa Fe County spokeswoman Carmelina Hart said a second inmate who had a medical incident at the jail Tuesday also has been tested for COVID-19.

He was taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, Hart said.

“While at the hospital, he showed one of the symptoms that [the Department of Health] is looking for and they tested him,” Hart said.

She could not provide any additional information about the medical incident or the symptom because of medical privacy laws, Hart said.

The second man tested has been brought back to the jail and is in an individual cell in the quarantine pod.

Although the first man tested was negative for the virus, Hart said, he will remain in the quarantine area for the 14-day isolation period.

The Department of Health is not rushing to tell people when there are negative test results, Hart said, and is concentrating on notifying people who test positive for the virus.

A female inmate at Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants was tested for the virus, Corrections Department spokesman Eric Harrison confirmed Thursday and the department is waiting for the results.

The inmate was tested as a “precautionary measure” because she had a “fever and deep cough,” Harrison said, adding she had transferred from Otero County Detention Center to the Grants facility about 11 days ago.

“She is currently in one of our medical separation units,” Harrison said in an email. “The housing unit where the inmate was previously located is currently on pod restriction as we monitor those inmates.”