The Nassau County jail is dealing with a spike in coronavirus cases impacting about a fifth of its inmate population, authorities said.
According to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, 46 male inmates — or about 21% of the 212 inmates in custody there — have been placed in quarantine after testing positive for the virus. So far, no female inmates or corrections officers have been infected, though two civilian staffers are quarantining at home with the virus.
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The surge in cases at the Nassau County jail comes as Florida’s jails and prisons continue to grapple with the virus. The latest figures from the Department of Corrections show 23 facilities across the state have active cases of the virus. While most inmates and staff have been cleared after testing positive, 208 inmates have died.
Last month, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office confirmed that three inmates at the Duval County jail have died as a result of complications from COVID-19. After JSO reported its first cases in June, the Florida Department of Health later reported that in the months that followed, at least 240 corrections officers and 400 inmates at the jail had tested positive.