Local jail shares inmate safety guidelines during coronavirus pandemic

The Lee County Sheriff's Department and jail in Tupelo shared some of their operating procedures and plans to help keep inmates safe.

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How do jails operate to keep prisoners safe during the pandemic?

W-t-v-a's bronson woodruff visited the lee county sheriff's office and jail to find out how they are navigating the coronavirus.

Here at lee county jail, inmates are seeing little change in how they live inside during the pandemic.

One new thing is the screening process prisoners have to go through before they are allowed inside.

(nat pop of door opening.) lee county jail in tupelo is operating a little differently during the pandemic.

The jail and sheriff's office have almost shut down public access to the faciltiy.

Visitation with inmamtes is cancelled, and business such as background checks is done online.

"the safety of our citizens and their livelihood is of our utmost importance and my priority."

According to lee county sheriff jim johnson, the jail has not had a single coronavirus case since the pandemic started.

However, coronavirus guidelines have proven challenging to follow.

"unfortunately the way our housing situation is, there is absolutely no way to quarantine people down here or do social distancing."

He said the jail buidliing is not prepared to deal with the coronavirus.

Each inmate has to go through a screening process, approved by the jail's medical staff, before he or she is allowed inside.

That process includes temperature checks and filling out a questionnaire.

"it's just general questions.

It's very quick, and, you know, i couldn't tell you but it's going to be a very, very low number of individuals that we've turned away because they answered the question that caused a red flag."

Standup: he wouldn't share what the coronavirus-directed questions are to keep the integrity of the test.

He didn't want to give away the correct answers.

The jail does not test new inmates unless they show symptoms. he said all tests they have done so far have been negative.

(nat pop of gate opening.) in the event of a positive case, johnson said the plan is to begin quarantining prisoners next door at the juvenile detention center.

The center has fewer people inside now.

According to the sheriff, most days it has none.

"since it's not in here, we hope we can quarantine the virus outside, and not allow the thing to get in, so i think quarantine, we're doing it, it's just a different manner of quarantine than what you think."

The sheriff added inmates do not wear masks inside the jail because they are all essentially mass-quarantined from the outside world.

If any inmates leave the jail, such as to go to court, they receive a medical face mask.

Reporting in tupelo, i'm bronson woodruff for w-t-v-a 9