BY ERIN SHERIDAN
Staff Writer
A Cameron County jailer employed at the Carrizalez-Rucker Detention Center has tested positive for COVID-19, according to Sheriff Omar Lucio.
The office said on Wednesday that the employee has not been inside the detention center since May 25.
“The employee was compromised at home by one of his immediate family members. I want to emphasize that our jail population has not been compromised by this illness. We continue our medical screening and cleaning practices at our facilities to protect our staff and our detainees,” said Lucio.
“We wish our employee a speedy recovery and really, really applaud his efforts on maintaining distance once he found out he had been infected, because he took the initiative.”
The sheriff said the employee will not be returning to work until he completes a necessary quarantine period and has fully recovered. “He’s doing OK, as we heard from his family.”
Deputies and jail staff continue to take precautions daily, said Lucio. Any staff or inmates who enter the facility are checked through the jail’s triage tent.
Numbers collected by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards published on Tuesday indicated that 653 inmates inside Texas jails have tested positive for COVID-19. Test results are pending for 890 inmates, while the number of inmates quarantined as a precautionary measure (but who do not have active COVID cases) is at 3,727.
The commission reported five inmate deaths across the state related to the virus. Six inmates in Texas jails were being treated off-site for active cases.
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