Muscogee County Jail inmate tests positive for COVID-19. Here’s what we know

A Muscogee County Jail inmate has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office.

The inmate received a positive result for the coronavirus Wednesday after being tested by the Georgia Department of Public Health on March 25. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the inmate and one other inmate were initially taken to Piedmont Columbus Regional on March 24 for flu-like symptoms.

The two inmates were placed in medical isolation at the jail after receiving treatment for their symptoms at the hospital. At this time, the other inmate who was suffering from flu-like symptoms does not have the coronavirus, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Both inmates have been in medical isolation for the past eight days and aren’t exhibiting any symptoms or fever. They will continue to be in medical isolation for another fourteen days.

According to Sheriff Donna Tompkins, the inmate who tested positive for the coronavirus has been housed in the jail since October. At this time, no other inmates are exhibiting any flu-like symptoms.

The Muscogee County Jail began screening all inmates for coronavirus on March 13. All new inmates are quarantined for 14 days to make sure they don’t have any symptoms of the coronavirus before they are added into the jail’s general population.

As of March 26, the Muscogee County Jail currently had 913 inmates in the facility. The jail’s max capacity is 1,069.

This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 1:32 PM.