PALMETTO, Fla. — After multiple inmates tested positive for COVID-19, the Manatee County Jail is under a partial lockdown, the facility announced Wednesday.
As of Wednesday, 75 of 1173 inmates in the facility are COVID-19 positive. That is the largest amount the facility has seen since testing began in March of 2020, Manatee County Sheriff's Office reports.
Many of the 75 inmates diagnosed with COVID-19 are currently asymptomatic, authorities say. To this point, none of the inmates who testes positive have required hospitalization and of the 75, three of the inmates are currently being housed in the jail’s medical unit because of pre-existing medical conditions.
Under the partial lockdown, the inmates will remain in their cells, except for six to eight hours a day when in small groups and on a rotating basis. They will be allowed to move around the common areas of their assigned dorm, take showers, make phone calls and access their commissary and the exercise yards, officials say.
The offsite Video Visitation Center will continue to operate on a normal schedule.