As a result of eight recent positive COVID-19 cases among inmates at the Durham County Detention Center, the entire facility population and staff were tested for the coronavirus.
The results of the tests were released Wednesday night, confirming that an additional 12 inmates have tested positive – bringing the total number of cases to 20.
Before this outbreak, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck spoke with Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead about how the department and its deputies have worked to keep safe over the past few months and how they will continue to operate despite these new cases.
Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead said very early on the Durham County Sheriff’s Department worked to garner enough PPE and started planning future operations – because they did not close.
“I sent some folks home to reduce the numbers and the risk but we did not close and they teleworked a lot,” Birkhead said. “Once we started making sure we had our supplies, it’s ‘what do we do now to help our community?’ So when deputies go out on calls they wear their PPE. We have handed out PPE to communities all across Durham County.”
The department is also responsible for the Durham courthouse, so Birkhead said health screenings and temperature checks have been made commonplace in that arena.
Outside of the courthouse, the sheriff’s office also maintains control of the Durham County Detention Center, where similar safety procedures were put into place.
“We immediately put screening measures in place,” Birkhead said. “We stopped outside visitation so we could help mitigate the risk of the virus coming in.”
At the time of this interview, while eight to ten detention center staff members were infected with COVID-19, no inmates had contracted the virus – but that all changed this past Sunday.
Per a press release from Birkhead, an outbreak of eight positive coronavirus cases of detainees in the detention center will lead to a new wave of testing.
The facility began its testing protocol of inmates after becoming aware of a suspected case. The sheriff said the detention center worked with the Durham County Health Department and followed the guidelines of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services during its assessment.
Birkhead said that his “worst fear has come true inside the facility” and the department was taking immediate and corrective steps to get in front of it.
“We are doing everything we can do humanely possible to keep the detention center, the courthouse safe and COVID-free and to continue to serve the residents of Orange County,” Birkhead said.
In terms of law enforcement policies and procedures, most non-emergency and non-urgent calls are now exclusively handled over the phone. However, Birkhead said if you need a deputy for any reason, they’ll be there – especially as the department has seen an increase in crime over the past few months.
“There has been a 35 to 39 percent increase in property crime since COVID,” Birkhead said. “So we know we still have to stay visible and be out in our communities – both residential and business.”
According to Birkhead, most of these crimes are “crimes of opportunity,” so the department is keeping a close eye on closed businesses and less-populated areas.
Birkhead said he and his department are committed to slowing the spread of this virus as much as they can so life can get back to normal and kids can return to school – and for him that means community education and compliance.
“We’re going to have to do everything we can once again to enforce the ordinance of wearing a face covering, the social distancing and the hand washing,” Birkhead said. “So we’re going to send those messages and continue to push that narrative so we can keep all of our students, faculty, staff and visitors safe as much as possible.”
For more information on the Durham County Sheriff’s Office Response to COVID-19, visit their website.
Photo via the Durham County Sheriff’s Office.
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