County jails in the Lake Okeechobee area have taken precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by isolating new prisoners and screening jail staff. According to data collected on July 31, Okeechobee County has no prisoners who are COVID-19 positive; Hendry County has six; Glades County has one; and Palm Beach County has one.

Okeechobee County
“We have been able to keep it out of our jail the entire time so far,” said Okeechobee County Sheriff Noel Stephen. They have had employees test positive (as of July 30, six employees were positive), “but as soon as we figure out they have had exposure, we put them on quarantine at home, and we fill their spots here until they get a negative test to come back to work.”

The sheriff said they do not allow inmates to have anything from the outside, including masks. They are only allowed to receive postcards. He explained this is because if they allow other things, they end up with things being smuggled in. Even paper has been used to smuggle in drugs. “They soak the paper in the illicit narcotics, and then the inmate chews the paper,” he explained.

Inmates do not have masks, because they do not really need them, he continued. They do not go out and see anyone. Any new inmates are quarantined for two weeks to 20 days before being admitted to general population. They have tested some inmates who come in from outside and claim to have been exposed. Usually this is what they think might be a “get out of jail free” card, but they keep them in isolation until the test result comes back. If it is negative, they are moved to the two-week quarantine area. The staff is wearing masks, and they have their temperatures taken and answer questions every time they enter the jail.

“Even me. When I go into the jail, I have to get my temperature taken. I’m very careful as to who I allow to go in there and go face to face with the inmates,” said the sheriff. He said ever since the beginning of the virus, they have made sure that prisoners are not kept beyond the time they were sentenced. The daily population at the jail has gone from about 275-280 in March to about 230 now. “We make sure the inmates in the jail are supposed to be there. If there is an inmate in the jail, who was supposed to have been to court last month, and otherwise would have been out of jail, we are releasing them.

“The inmates in our jail are in the safest place they could be in our county right now,” said the sheriff.

Hendry County
Hendry County Jail has six inmates with positive results, according to Hendry County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Joe Bastys. No staff are currently positive. The jail has an average inmate population of 194.

All outside professional traffic was stopped on March 16. All new inmates are quarantined for 14 days. Temperature checks are conducted for all persons entering the facility. General universal precautions are enforced. PPE (personal protection equipment) is utilized on quarantined housing unit and for all incoming new arrests. He said they have also conducted education on sanitation, hand washing and social distancing.

Glades County
Glades County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Keith Henson said the jail has one active COVID-19 case at this time. The average inmate population is 394. He said 328 COVID-19 tests have been administered to date, and 157 inmates tested positive (including ICE detainees). Testing began in late May, when testing materials became available. The current detention protocol requires temperature and symptom screening complemented by testing of all new intakes. He said 23 jail staff have tested positive to date. Of those, 22 have recovered and been cleared to return to work. One is still an active COVID-19 case.

Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County jails have an average inmate population of 1,146 at the Main Detention Center (MDC) in West Palm Beach, and 386 at the West Detention Center (WDC) in Belle Glade. At MDC, 94 prisoners have been tested for COVID-19 to date; 18 have tested positive. Currently only one prisoner is positive at that facility. At WDC, 109 inmates have been tested to date; 39 tested positive. Currently no prisoners are positive. Whenever possible, the PBSO Department of Corrections is following the recommendations from the following organizations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Commission on Corrections Health Care, Florida & National Sheriff’s Associations, American Correctional Association and the American Jail Association.

Reporter Cathy Womble contributed to this story.