At the end of July, the Brazos County Detention Center saw a rapid increase of COVID-19 cases throughout their jail population. Now that spike has resulted in the death of an inmate.
On Tuesday morning a 49-year-old inmate of the Brazos County Detention Center died due to COVID-19.
“The day that he was tested actually positive he was actually moved straight to the hospital at that point,” said Brazos County Sheriff Chris Kirk.
The sheriff’s department explained the inmate, who has not yet been identified, had no underlying conditions.
Inmates who test positive for the virus are taken care of by the medial team unless they are experiencing severe symptoms.
“Once their symptoms get above something that we’re capable of treating then they are transferred to a hospital,” said Sheriff Kirk.
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards Executive Director Brandon Wood says that COVID-19 deaths are still investigated by the commission to ensure that the minimum jail standards, in regards to the care and treatment of the inmates, have been met.
“In our own facility, we have nurses and doctors on contract. We have the health department consulting with us,” explained Sheriff Kirk.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 11 inmates at the Brazos County Jail are COVID-19 positive along with eight jail staffers, with one deputy currently in the hospital.
“We do not have any inmates in the hospital today. We have 216 [inmates] that are considered quarantine or basically restricted to their units because a positive came from that unit,” said Sheriff Kirk.
This death comes just weeks after more than two dozen non-violent inmates were released as part of a plan to try and slow the spread of COVID-19 in the facility.
“Non-violent, low-risk offenders we would be ok to reduce their bond in this unique situation so they don't catch coronavirus,” said Brazos County District Attorney Jarvis Parsons.
“From the very start we realized that bed control was going to be critical so we did we started a population of 720 back in March and we are down to 552 today,” said Sheriff Kirk.
The sheriff’s department says that they are currently staying static with releasing further inmates at this time as they continue to fight COVID-19.
It is important to note that the active cases with the Brazos County Detention Center are not included in with the health district's daily reports. Tuesday’s inmate death has not yet be added to the county’s official death toll.