Jail staff, inmates await coronavirus test results
Twenty-two staff members at the San Miguel County Detention Center are currently living at the jail after an inmate tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday, according to Warden Matthew Elwell.
New Mexico Department of Health officials tested all inmates and staff members on Wednesday, though he was not given a time frame for when test results would be available. Until the results are known, the 22 staff members — including Elwell — will continue to live at the jail where they are working 12-hour shifts to keep the facility operating.
“It’ll all depend on the testing,” Elwell said. “Right now we can’t make a determination, until we get the results. That’s why we wanted to do 100 percent of inmates and staff. That’s the only way you can determine what direction to take.”
The male inmate who tested positive for the coronavirus has been incarcerated at the facility for more than 30 days, according to Elwell, and he is currently quarantined for a minimum of 14 days.
Jail officials have not notified the man’s family because he did not sign a release allowing them to divulge personal medical information, Elwell said. However, the man has been given access to a phone and could contact family or friends.
According to Elwell, jail staff and other inmates came into contact with the infected inmate.
“He was in general population, and we rotate out staff,” Elwell said. “I can honestly say that 80 to 90 percent of staff members had contact with him, along with the inmates in his living area. But until the tests come back, we can’t determine the extent of any spread.”
Elwell said the jail would still book any new inmates who are arrested, and he said they will release inmates as ordered by the courts.
One inmate was released from the jail Wednesday evening after posting bond. The man was booked into the jail on Monday, May 4, and would have been an inmate when the DOH conducted testing. According to Elwell, the man has been instructed to self-quarantine.
Elwell said he wants family members of those still being held at the jail to know he and his staff are taking precautions to protect inmates, including providing them with masks.
“We want the families to know that we’re taking care of their loved ones in here,” Elwell said. “Staff is here with them, and they have plenty of support.”
Since early March, civil rights advocates and defense attorneys have voiced concerns about the potential for an outbreak of the coronavirus in the state’s jails and prisons.
Chief Public Defender Bennett Baur told the Optic the best way to prevent an outbreak inside any jail is to reduce the number of incarcerated people. Baur said he would like to see jails and prisons release inmates with serious medical conditions and those who are charged with non-violent crimes as a way to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus throughout the community.
“Especially in a county jail, the people that are in there are members of the community. They were in the community before they got arrested, and they will be returning to the community,” he said. “It’s really our responsibility to protect their health, and in doing so, we protect our own health.”
New Mexico reported its first case of COVID-19 on March 11, and since then, area law enforcement, prosecutors and courts have adopted new policies to reduce arrests and lower the number of inmates at SMCDC. As previously reported by the Optic, the efforts have resulted in substantially fewer bookings into SMCDC. As of Thursday afternoon, 46 inmates were being housed at the jail — 44 men and two women. The jail’s capacity is 164 inmates.
But even with a reduced inmate population, infectious diseases like the coronavirus can still spread easily in jails because inmates live in close quarters, making it difficult to adhere to social distancing guidelines, Baur said. Jail staff also have several interactions with inmates throughout the day, and return home at the end of their shifts.
“That’s why you have to be ready for it and have procedures in place, and try to have as few people in there as possible,” Baur said. “In the end, public health is a component of public safety.”
