Henrico Sheriff: 125 inmates, 6 staffers at county's jails have COVID-19

The COVID-19 outbreak in Henrico’s jails now has expanded to more than 100 inmates and several staffers.

Henrico jail officials have tested 645 inmates, and 125 have COVID-19, Henrico Sheriff Alisa Gregory said during a press conference today. Among 270 jail staffers tests, 6 have the virus. Another 393 inmates refused to be tested.

Of the 125 inmates who tested positive, fewer than 10 have any symptoms, Gregory said, and those have only mild symptoms. All 125 are quarantined together, away from other inmates, she said. Those who refused to be tested are being housed separately from other inmates and separately from those with confirmed cases.

County Manager John Vithoulkas praised Gregory’s ability to reduce by 768 the number of prisoners housed in the two jails this year alone, saying that without that reduction, it might not be possible to isolate three separate groups in the county’s Jail West and Jail East.

The county will continue to test all inmates who consent and all staffers weekly, Vithoulkas said.

“Some people are fearful of the test," Gregory said, when asked why so many inmates may have declined to be tested. "It’s an uncomfortable test. Like in the community, there are people that have no symptoms that feel like, 'I'm ok, why do I get a test?' But that's the scary part about this. You have a bunch of people that have tested positive that are asymptomatic. Is that what's happening in our community?

"That's why it's so important for people to wear face-coverings – if not for themselves, for others. We gotta protect one another."

Anyone with questions about family members who are in one of the county’s two jails should call the Sheriff’s Office at 501-4570.

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