Staff Reports
The Bartholomew County Jail is on lockdown after nearly half the inmates and four employees have tested positive for COVID-19 since Saturday.
An Indiana State Health Department of Health strike team traveled to the jail over the weekend to conduct testing and found that 91 of the jail’s 211 inmates were positive, according to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. The jail situation sent Bartholomew County’s positive test numbers jumping from an increase of 39 cases on Sunday to an additional 117 by Monday.
Four inmates refused to be tested and were put in quarantine, jail officials said.
The jail will continue to be locked down until at least the end of February, and medical staff are continuing to monitor all inmates and remain on call 24/7, jail officials said.
Jail officials said that inmates are required to wear masks and everyone is screened prior to being booked into the jail. Jail employees are also screened, and are required to wear masks and personal protective equipment when entering cell blocks, officials said.
With the exception of attorneys, no one has been allowed inside the jail for months, jail officials said. No one, including attorneys, will now be allowed inside the jail, and meetings with attorneys and their clients will be done via Home Wav and telephone conference.
Sheriff Matt Myers is asking that family members not call the jail to request that their loved one be released.
Only those with fewer than 30 days to serve and who are no threat to the community are being considered for early release, jail officials said. Judges, the prosecutor, probation and parole are working to help the jail control the number of inmates who can be released.
Each inmate will be given 15 minutes a week to call family at no charge. Funding for the phone calls will be paid with commissary funding which is non-taxpayer dollars, jail officials said.
“The jail is our number one responsibility,” Myers said. “If needed, these positions will be filled with deputies, reserve units and administration. Everyone at BCJ has done a good job managing these illnesses and we all take this very seriously. We have put a lot of safety precautions in place over the past (almost) year but, unfortunately, this may get worse before it gets better.”
Jail officials said they have spoken to federal and state representatives about COVID-19 vaccines for inmates, but inmates aren’t able to get inoculated at this time.
“I want to reemphasize that we are not closing the jail, inmates are not going to be automatically released and anyone who breaks the law will be arrested,” Myers said.
The jail is working with the Bartholomew County Health Department, the Indiana Sheriff’s Association, Columbus Regional Hospital and other sheriff’s departments in order to find “best practices” for keeping inmates and staff safe, jail officials said.
