A correctional officer at the Lee County Jail has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently under self-quarantine, according to Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones.
The employee who tested positive was told so on Tuesday night and had been off-duty for three days, according to Jones.
“All employees who met the criteria of close-proximity contact with this particular employee are being monitored and being taken off duty,” Jones said.
Jones said the employee may have contracted the disease from another part-time job that they’re employed in.
The employee who has COVID-19 was in close proximity with inmates last week, Jones said, adding that they will follow the jail’s full-time physician’s recommendation and test inmates on a “case-by-case basis.”
“If it’s determined [testing all inmates is] what needs to be done, then certainly we will do that,” Jones said.
Jones said the sheriff’s office is trying to figure out what part of the jail the employee was assigned and who they came in contact with.
Jones said he and his medical staff will then decide if an inmate needs to be tested.
“That will guide us in regard to if testing is appropriate,” Jones said.
The jail’s medical staff is affiliated with East Alabama Medical Center and has COVID-19 testing capabilities, according to Jones.
As of Wednesday, the sheriff's office reported that no inmate had been tested for COVID-19.
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Eduardo Medina, senior in journalism, is the editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman.
