Jefferson County Jail COVID-19 outbreak affects 5 inmates; no serious symptoms

(Updated: More information from sheriff)

Cases do prompt changes to who stays or is released

MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) – Five of the 67 inmates at the Jefferson County Jail have tested positive for COVID-19, though they are showing no or only flu-like symptoms, Sheriff Marc Heckathorn said Friday.

“This is locking our facility down more than usual and forcing us to make some decisions regarding who to keep in custody and who to release, similar to the release decisions Crook and Deschutes (counties) are doing,” Heckathorn told NewsChannel 21 in an email.

Fortunately, he said, the 20-year-old jail, a 150-bed “facility is fairly large, and our inmate numbers” – 67 at present – “are low in relation to capacity, so our release decisions will be based on available spaces and criminal charges.”

One of the five people with the virus “came to us (COVID-)positive, and we accepted (the woman) anyway, due to the charges being serious, and her symptoms were minor,” the sheriff said.

Heckathorn said all five of the inmates “are doing well and have flu-like symptoms, or no symptoms at all. One of the five is asymptomatic, displaying no symptoms at all, but tested positive.”

“Hopefully, this will be past us in the next week or two, and we’ll be fully open,” the sheriff said.

As for past cases, Heckathorn said, “To my knowledge, last year we had one female that tested positive after leaving 14 days of quarantine.”

In fact, he said, until this happened, the jail “has been fully open, accepting all inmates who clear medical upon entry” since January of this year – “one of the only (jails) in the entire state” to not have to make more limited intake decisions due to COVID-19.

"The reason we have been able to be fully open and others aren’t is primarily due to our large capacity and space to quarantine all inmates that come into the facility for 14 days upon admittance," Heckathorn said. "Many jails aren’t that fortunate and lack the space."