On Wednesday, July 22, 2020, the Whiteside County Health Department advised there was an inmate who tested positive for COVID-19. The situation surrounding the inmate who tested positive is the following. Our Whiteside County inmate has been in the care and custody of Whiteside County Jail since Thursday, March 12. This inmate was tested as part of protocol before going to another facility, which required the inmate to have a COVID-19 test prior to being accepted. The inmate was tested at the Whiteside County Health Department, and the test results were positive. The inmate showed no symptoms.
Since the positive test results, the inmate has been placed in medical isolation for the required 14-day quarantine. The entire cell block where the inmate was housed [also] is in 14-day quarantine. By Monday, July 27, the entire staff of Correctional Deputies will have been tested. The only inmates who have exposure with the positive COVID-19 inmates are inmates in the same cell block.
Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office has been working, and will continue to work, closely with the Whiteside County Health Department. The Office greatly appreciates all the additional services the Health Department staff provides.