Four detainees test positive at Taos County jail

Last week Taos County said it had confirmed the first four cases of the novel coronavirus in four detainees at the Taos County jail, three of whom had been transferred from Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque for hearings in 8th Judicial District Court and one who was arrested locally.

None of the four have been identified by age or sex, but all have been released, with one of the three out-of-county detainees still being held at Holy Cross Medical Center for treatment as of last week.

Of the two others brought in for hearings in the district court on Oct. 8 and 9, one was selfisolating and the other’s location was unknown, said Taos County public information officer Anissa Arrambide.

The individual arrested in Taos County last week was in the process of being released last Thursday (Oct. 15), Arrambide said.

She added that jail staff have continued to wear PPE throughout the pandemic and are tested “periodically” for the virus, while every detainee who enters the jail is given a test.

Following last week’s positives, all cells occupied by the detainees were sanitized.

Responding to an inquiry from Taos News on Thursday, Arrambide said the air filtration system at the jail is “programmed to meet the minimum fresh air requirement for commercial buildings. The system can be programmed to bring in 100 percent fresh air 100 percent of the time.”

While the New Mexico Department of Health has relayed reports of positive cases at other correctional facilities elsewhere throughout the state, it had not reported a positive case at the Taos County jail as of Tuesday (Oct. 20).

Widespread speculation that correctional facilities pose high risks for spreading the virus has led attorneys throughout the state this year to seek pretrial release for men and women facing charges and even transfers to house arrest for convicts with other conditions that make them especially vulnerable to infection.

The Department of Health reported the total coronavirus cases as of Oct. 20 among people held by the New Mexico Corrections Department at the following facilities:

CENTRAL NEW MEXICO CORRECTIONAL FACILITY IN VALENCIA COUNTY: 41

LEA COUNTY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY: 102

NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO CORRECTIONAL FACILITY IN UNION COUNTY: 5

NORTHWEST NEW MEXICO CORRECTIONAL CENTER IN CIBOLA COUNTY: 1

OTERO COUNTY PRISON FACILITY: 472

PENITENTIARY OF NEW MEXICO IN SANTA FE COUNTY: 1

SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO CORRECTIONAL FACILITY IN DOÑA ANA COUNTY: 45

WESTERN NEW MEXICO CORRECTIONAL FACILITY IN CIBOLA COUNTY: 4