DES MOINES, Iowa - The Polk County Jail has 82 inmates who've tested positive for COVID-19, an increase of 17 over a twenty-four hour period. It had 47 inmates who had tested positive in early May.
The jail has a rapidly changing population as inmates arrive and are released on bond or plea agreements. Three-hundred inmates have been tested.
Nine out of 159 staff members at the jail have also tested positive for the virus.
The first case of COVID-19 at the Polk County Jail was reported on April 21st.
The jail says it uses aggressive cleaning and sanitation procedures and tries to increase distancing with staff and the inmate population when possible, by utilizing different areas inside the building.
Some of the biggest COVID-19 outbreaks in the nation have occurred at prisons where inmates live in tight quarters and social distancing is highly difficult.