Cases of the coronavirus are rising in the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail.
Officials on Tuesday said 33 inmates have now tested positive for COVID-19.
Those inmates were in the same housing unit with the jail’s first case among the inmate population and the announcement comes less than a week after eight inmates tested positive for the coronavirus.
“The inmates are housed in a quarantine unit, separate and apart from the general population, and are presently asymptomatic,” according to the jail’s news release which was posted on Facebook. “Additionally, the inmates whose test results were negative or inconclusive have been separated from those who tested positive, and will be quarantined.”
VPRJ officials said those inmates will be retested and additional testing will be ordered at the direction of the Peninsula Health District and Virginia Department of Health.
A jail employee has also tested positive, is asymptomatic and is currently in quarantine.
“VPRJ continues to strictly adhere to a facility wide mask policy, daily temperature checks, and extensive and frequent cleaning initiatives,” officials said in the news release. “Our inmate population is kept informed and updated on the status of the jail by the jail’s command and medical staff, and are encouraged to report any and all symptoms of illness.”
It’s unclear when the 33 inmates tested positive.
VPRJ had preciously tested inmates who had close contact with the initial person who tested positive as a precaution. An inmate had “mild symptoms of illness” and seven were asymptomatic, but it was unclear what symptoms the inmates were experiencing.
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