Sheriff: First 4 COVID-19 cases reported at Monroe County jail

In a press release issued Tuesday afternoon, Monroe County’s sheriff, Brad Swain, reported the first four confirmed COVID-19 cases among the county jail’s population.

According to the news release, the first two cases were identified last week, when two cellmates in a medium security cell block reported symptoms to medical staff. Both inmates were transferred to medical cells for observation, and tested positive.

A few days after that, according to the news release, two inmates from a different cell block had symptoms that led them to be tested, and those tests were both positive.

According to the news release, the inmates who tested positive have either mild or no symptoms, and “there is little present concern about their health being in danger.”

According to the news release, representatives from the State Department of Health visited the jail on Tuesday, to test those in the cell blocks where inmates tested positive, as well any jail staff who chose to be tested.

Of the 44 inmates who were offered the chance to be tested, 27 took it, according to the news release. Results are expected next week, according to the news release.

Tuesday’s announcement came on a day when the state of Indiana’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 139 new COVID-19 deaths, not all for the same date. The statewide daily high of 85 deaths came on Dec. 9.

In Monroe County the total count of deaths now stands at 85, after three more were added in Tuesday’s dashboard report.

The rolling average case count in Monroe County has been trending downward, from around 100 two weeks ago to around 75 on Tuesday.

The rolling average positivity rate in Monroe County is about 5 percent, or about half of the statewide rate. The upward and downward trends for Monroe County and the state are roughly parallel.