After experiencing an outbreak among its inmate population months ago, the Durham County Sheriff’s Office is now experiencing new COVID-19 cases among its staff.

An alert from the sheriff’s office on Tuesday morning announced members of the office’s records division have tested positive for the coronavirus.

“In the interest of public safety, the records office is closed until further notice as we await the results of staff testing and conduct a deep cleaning of that office,” said the release.

The Durham County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating its response with Durham County Public Health, but the release indicates members of the public could have been exposed to those with the virus. Anyone who was in the Records Department of the Sheriff’s Office from November 2 through today, November 10, may have been at risk and should be tested. The county health department is beginning to conduct contact tracing and will notify those who might have been directly exposed to the coronavirus.

“Sheriff’s Office employees have taken every possible precaution in protecting the public and themselves since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Sheriff Clarence Birkhead in his office’s release. “This virus has impacted our agency, however, we have a responsibility to carry out our duties to the residents of Durham County. We will continue to follow all local, state, and federal guidelines in doing so.”

The office has experienced at least up to eight employees already catch COVID-19, with six employees testing positive in April and two more in July. In August, the Durham County Detention Center experienced an outbreak of the coronavirus among inmates. Up to 20 inmates ultimately tested positive after an initial cluster of eight were confirmed to have caught COVID-19.

Photo via the Durham County Sheriff’s Office. 

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