Pixabay
Pixabay
Almost 50 Polk County Jail inmates tested positive for COVID-19 last week, which was more than twice the number previously reported.
“We're not trying to hide anything, by any means,” Lt. Jeff Rullman of the Polk County Sheriff's Department told the Des Moines Register.
The department has launched a new tracking system in an effort to provide the public with more transparency regarding cases of the coronavirus at Polk County Jail, which is the largest jail in Iowa.
While inmates who test positive are separated from the general population, the jail has implemented separate ventilation systems across different areas to prevent the virus from spreading through air ducts.
State officials are being urged to conduct more widespread testing within correctional facilities as there have been fewer than 580 inmates tested for the virus out of an estimated 7,900 inmates. More than 200 inmates at Polk County Jail have been tested. There are currently 740 inmates at the jail, according to the Des Moines Register.
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