Seven more inmates and one employee of the Starr County Detention Center tested positive for COVID-19 after mass tests were conducted at the facility earlier this week.
Starr County Sheriff Rene “Orta” Fuentes requested mass testing to be done at the facility which was conducted by a strike team on Tuesday, according to a statement posted by the county on social media.
The team administered a total of 196 tests, 138 of them among inmates.
From those tests, a total of nine inmates tested positive, including two that had been previously reported. Of the 58 staff members who were tested, only one tested positive.
“The inmates are isolated, quarantined and are in good health,” the statement read. “Starr County Detention Center is taking every precaution necessary to ensure the safety of every inmate and staff members in the facility.”
