An additional eight staffers at the Forsyth County Jail have become infected with COVID-19, along with two more inmates, according to the latest report from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
With the new numbers, the Forsyth County Jail has had a total of 116 COVID-19 infections, including 97 inmates and 19 staffers, in an outbreak that began at the end of November. The jail has the second-largest outbreak of COVID-19 among 21 correctional facilities listed in the DHHS report. Mecklenburg County Jail had the largest outbreak with 267 total COVID-19 cases.
The increase in COVID-19 cases comes after the Forsyth County Sheriff s Office tested 568 inmates in December. The jail also tested 210 staff members after 11 staffers had already tested positive. Just before Christmas, a total of 95 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19.
Sheriff Kimbrough Speaks about COVID-19 in the Forsyth County Jail
The number of inmates infected with COVID-19 at the Forsyth County Jail has jumped to 95 after four inmates were retested after results came back inconclusive and new inmates tested positive at the jail s intake, according to the county s health director and the sheriff s office.Â
The Forsyth County Sheriff s Office announced on Monday that after mass testing, 68 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported on Tuesday that 67 inmates at the jail had tested positive. It wasn t immediately clear why there was a discrepancy between the state and local numbers on Tuesday.Â