Shasta County Jail. Photos by Doni Chamberlain.
The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Custody Division has been working in conjunction with the Public Health Division of Health and Human Services (HHSA) and the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Shasta County Jail houses hundreds of inmates who could be susceptible to contracting contagious diseases, including the Coronavirus. Although inmates are susceptible to contracting such an illness, there have been no confirmed cases of the Coronavirus amongst the inmate population.
As previously mentioned, none of the inmates housed at the Shasta County Jail have been diagnosed with having Coronavirus. To prevent the potential spread of Coronavirus to the inmate population, inmate visitation will be suspended effective March 13th, 2020, at 08:00 AM.
Visitation will be suspended for a period of 14-days, at which point, the need to continue the suspension will be reviewed by administration. Although visitation will be suspended, inmates have access to live video conferencing, where they can conduct visits via the Internet. It should be noted that scheduled tours and other non-essential visitors will not be permitted access to the facility.
The Shasta County Jail has also implemented additional medical screening procedures during the intake process to minimize the risk of exposure to personnel and the inmate population. The jail’s administration has worked with the facility’s medical provider to develop contingency plans should an inmate test positive for the Coronavirus.
While none of the inmate population has tested positive for the Coronavirus, the Sheriff’s Office will continue collaborative efforts with HHSA, BSCC and the Public Health Officer to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Furthermore, the suspension of visitation is not unique; other jurisdictions in the State of California have elected to suspend in-person visitation in accordance with Governor Newsom’s Executive Order No. 25-20.
