Fulton County Jail taking steps to keep inmates, employees safe from coronavirus
ATLANTA - Inmate workers are doing round the clock cleaning inside the Fulton County Jail.
“As you can imagine, if the virus was to infect the facility, we would have a major problem,” Lt. Col. Adam Lee III explained.
Thursday, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shared a Facebook post showing an inmate disinfecting a common area.
"They are wiping down every possible surface that they see that are touched by the general public and by our staff members. Chairs, countertops, elevator buttons, telephones anything you can imagine,” Lee said.
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The constant sanitation is to prevent the coronavirus from seeping into the facility.
Lee told FOX 5 none of their more than 2,000 inmates have contracted the deadly virus.
Their main focus is screening folks coming and going.
"We asked the questions have you traveled, have you been exposed, knowingly exposed,” he said.
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But the jail will soon do more intense screening.
"As soon as we are able to obtain those non-invasive thermometers, temperature apparatuses, what we want to do is check every single shift, every single day coming and going anybody who enters the building will get a temperature test.”
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Lee mentioned those thermometers are on backorder.
They also have a new protocol in place for incoming inmates, they will be isolated for 14 days to help with social distancing.
"It’s practically impossible for us to keep all of our inmates 6 feet apart, based on space,” Lee detailed.
The Sheriff’s Office said inmates with release dates are also being considered for early release.
"It’s working to an extent. Our population has dwindled down maybe about seven percent in the last week.
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They have also temporarily suspended their weekend jail program.
If someone is believed to have contracted the virus, Lee said they would be immediately isolated.
They would be sent to the hospital for treatment.
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