LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky jails are limiting visitation and are stepping up inmate health screenings to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Oldham County Detention Center on Tuesday decided to allow no visits in the next couple of days, though Jailer Mike Simpson encouraged people to call back Wednesday.
“We’re just trying to be proactive,” Simpson told WDRB News on Tuesday afternoon.
He said he was not aware of any coronavirus infection at the jail.
Simpson said he had received an email from the Kentucky Department of Corrections that advised jails to enact precautionary protocols to prevent the spread of the virus.
Oldham County Jailer Mike Simpson.
Louisville officials said Tuesday that Louisville Metro Department of Corrections would for now allow only video visitation.
Oldham County Detention Center does not have a screening process for visitors, Simpson said, which makes it difficult to allow visitation. Some jail staff or even inmates may clean the lobby area and become infected, he said.
In a facility with 300 inmates living in close proximity, an outbreak can be difficult to contain and treat, Simpson said, as evidenced by the brief lockdown experienced by Bullitt County Jail on Tuesday after inmates became ill — though inmates there appear to only have been infected with the flu.
Simpson also said that state said it would not accept the transfer of any inmate with a fever above 100.5 degrees.
The jailer, who has been in the business for 30 years, said he has in his jail inmates brought to him by local police — but also state and federal prisoners, and all of the agencies may be performing different health screenings.
He said that if an inmate is picked up by U.S. marshals in Indianapolis and brought to Oldham County Jail, it’s unclear as to what kind of health screens the marshals conduct.
“It’s a giant challenge for all the jails,” Simpson said.
To make sure that people aren’t brought into the jail sick, he said his staff has stepped up medical screenings so that each new inmate’s health is assessed.
The jailer said he hopes that approach minimizes the risk of bringing a sick inmate into a confined space, though he acknowledged that the situation was difficult and that protocols as well as guidance from the state were likely to change.
“None of us have the answer,” he said.
But, hopefully, together, Simpson said, an answer can be found.
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