Detention Center sees 7 COVID-19 cases involving staff

Camp Verde AZ (May 5, 2020) – UPDATE – Since the original media release, 5 additional COVID-19 cases involving detention employees have been confirmed. A majority of the employees who tested positive noted that symptoms were relatively minor with at least one appearing asymptomatic. Contact tracing for those quarantined employees is underway and includes detention staff, inmates, and family members if necessary. Currently, no inmates have tested positive.

Detention command staff is continuing to coordinate COVID-19 testing with cooperation of the Yavapai County Health Department, Wexford Health Sources, and Spectrum Healthcare. The Sheriff would like to thank these agencies for their assistance in making testing supplies and testing results a priority.

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Camp Verde AZ (May 2, 2020) – It is with great sadness the Sheriff’s Office announces the death of a part time contract employee and counselor who worked for Wexford Health Sources in the Camp Verde Detention Center. This employee was assigned to the Restore to Competency (RTC) program. The employee passed away on April 27, 2020, after several days in the hospital under treatment for various medical concerns. During his hospital stay, he was tested for Covid-19, in part due to his age. On the day following his death, April 28, 2020, test results came back positive.

Sheriff Mascher immediately directed his staff to ascertain which personnel/inmates had contact with this employee and set up testing. This employee was part time with limited staff and inmate contact. The week prior to his hospitalization, he only worked a few hours. During routine medical screening protocols that have been underway for all staff entering the building, he did not exhibit any signs or symptoms of Covid-19.

Since testing began based on this case, one additional jail support staff member tested positive for Covid 19 on April 30, and is currently quarantined.

Detention Center Command staff is working with Wexford Health Sources to monitor and test staff and inmate population with assistance from Yavapai County Community Health Services (YCCHS) in the contact tracing investigation. YCCHS will receive the test results of detention staff and complete the follow-up investigation of their contacts outside of the jail to include family and friends.

As of May 1, 2020 based on the testing results so far, there are no other confirmed cases of Covid 19 for staff and no positive cases for inmates.

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