Jail Inmate Tests Positive for COVID 19 and is now Quarantined

An inmate at the Missoula County Detention Center is now in quarantine after testing positive for COVID 19.

Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Jeanette Smith provides details.

“A recent inmate that was booked into the Missoula County Detention facility tested positive for COVID 19,” said Smith. “The Missoula County Detention facility stringently adheres to CDC guidelines for the health and safety of the public, staff and other inmates. When the individual was brought in for booking, they went through an initial screening process and shared information that they had close contact with a positive COVID 19 person.”

Smith described the actions the jail staff then took to isolate the inmate.

“The information provided by the inmate prompted our staff to initiate pre-established operating guidelines and then quarantined the inmate in an isolation area that is designated for this purpose,” she said. “The individual was also tested that same day.”

Smith said the inmate was then transferred out of the detention facility.

“Our medical team then confirmed the close contact,” she said. “Detention officers and nursing staff utilized personal protective equipment to meet the requirements for contact with the inmate. The inmate remained isolated and had no contact with other inmates while they were in the facility. The inmate has been released by a court order and is currently under a health order to quarantine for the next 14 days.”

Smith did not reveal where the inmate has been placed for the next 14 days. Their name and the charges were not revealed in the press release.