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Berkshire Jail Says No Inmates Have COVID-19; 4 Cases Among Staff

The Berkshire County Sheriff's Office logo, a gold star with the office's name on it and the state seal in the middle
Berkshire County Sheriff's Office

The Berkshire County House of Corrections says while none of its inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, four of its staff members have. 

According to Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office superintendent Jack Quinn, none of the jail’s 160 or so inmates have coronavirus, but three non-correctional officer staff members and one officer have the disease.

“All the inmates are masked, all the officers are masked, temperatures are taken every single day of both the staff and the inmates," Quinn told WAMC. "We have decon stations set up for the officers and the cleaning is tenfold inside with the inmate population.”

Quinn says the jail’s infirmary is equipped to handle COVID-19, and that the facility is well stocked with personal protective equipment.

Two epidemiologists are on call, and daily meetings are held with medical staff to monitor the situation. Inmates have been granted a limited number of free external calls on a monthly basis for the duration of the pandemic.

Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
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