After 3 more inmates test positive for COVID-19, Jailer Jason Woosley offers details regarding virus mitigation in the detention center

jason-woosley-05-18
jason-woosley-05-18

Three more inmates at the Grayson County Detention Center (GCDC) have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).

Grayson County Judge-Executive Kevin Henderson made the announcement at a COVID-19 briefing Monday afternoon. The three new positive cases at the detention center raise the facility’s total to 21 cases. All the positive inmates are “in isolation together,” according to the health department.

No new deaths were reported by Henderson.

Of Grayson County’s 123 confirmed coronavirus cases, 45 are residents of Grayson Nursing & Rehabilitation while 16 are staff members. Spring View Nursing & Rehabilitation has had 12 residents test positive along with two employees. As aforementioned, the GCDC now has 21 COVID-19 cases, 19 inmates and two deputies (one of the deputies lives in Breckinridge County and was exposed to the virus by a family member, officials previously said), and five cases have arisen from Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center.

The county has eight COVID-19-related deaths; seven connected to Grayson Nursing & Rehabilitation and a 66-year-old county resident.

Henderson noted on Monday that 46 (37.4 percent) victims have recovered from the virus, before adding that 885 tests have been administered in the county, with 727 tests returned negative and 35 test results pending.

Woosley responds to questions

Grayson County Jailer Jason Woosley responded to questions he’s received from people in the community about what his facility is doing to limit the spread of COVID-19 inside the GCDC.

Woosley said at a previous coronavirus briefing that “an entire section of the main facility” is being used to separate the general population of the jail from inmates in quarantine. Since March, every new intake at the facility has been placed in 14 day quarantine, with every person in quarantine undergoing a COVID-19 test.

The detention center houses nearly 600 inmates at its three locations: the main campus on Shaw Station Road, the GCDC Annex, and the women’s facility on East White Oak Street. Approximately 120 staff members are employed at the jail.

Woosley said on Monday he has been in contact with the Kentucky Department of Corrections, the Kentucky Department for Public Health and the Grayson County Health Department, and he feels the GCDC is doing all it can to mitigate the impact of the virus inside the facility.

“We feel like we’re doing everything that we can at this time to prevent this from spreading to any other parts of our facility,” Woosley said. “… Hopefully, we have it confined, and we can keep it that way, but we’re expecting the worse just so we’ll be prepared for it when it comes.”

Jail officials are testing only those inmates who show symptoms, “which we were recommended to do,” Woosley said.

“We started this (preparing for an outbreak) in March, about March 12, putting things in place to be prepared for an outbreak,” Woosley noted. “Shortly after that, we started changing (staff members’) schedules and rotating shifts so that the flow of staff coming in and out of the building would be minimal. We stopped using a time clock, (and) we stopped using break areas so we wouldn’t have a large number of staff gathered together in one area. We’ve always used PPE (personal protective equipment) supplies, that’s something we have always done. We did start wearing cloth masks the first of April and we’ve continued wearing those ever since; that is mandatory for the staff. And for those staff working in the area with positive cases, those staff are wearing full PPE required equipment.”

The jailer said “inmates at all three facilities have multiple masks, and most of the inmates are wearing them, (although) there are a few who are defying” wearing a protective mask.

Woosley added that he accepted offers Monday from several jailers around the state for additional PPE supplies and cleaning supplies, as he also expressed his appreciation to local healthcare organizations.

“I can’t say how much I appreciate all the support we’ve gotten locally with Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center and the (Grayson County) health department and several other companies that have offered PPE supplies,” Woosley said.

The GCDC houses between between 550 and 600 inmates at any given time (570 inmates as of Friday, May 15) and employs about 120 staff members.

Henderson will host the next COVID-19 briefing on Friday at 3:30. The briefing can be seen live on K105’s Facebook and YouTube pages, and heard on K105.

By Ken Howlett, News Director

Contact Ken at ken@k105.com