KINGMAN, AZ — Sheriff officials are reporting Wednesday that a COVID-19 outbreak has led to multiple inmates testing positive for the coronavirus.
Mohave County Sheriff's Office said the Adult Detention Facility has identified 18 new positive inmates in one housing unit.
Jail Commander Captain Don Bischoff said several inmates began reporting COVID-like symptoms that included body aches, headache, and loss of taste and smell on Monday.
Five inmates were immediately tested with rapid collection test kits which revealed that they were all COVID-19 positive, according to the sheriff's office.
The remaining 13 inmates who were in the same housing unit were tested Tuesday and also tested positive.
Bischoff said the 13 new positive inmates reported no symptoms at the time of their tests.
All 18 positive inmates were moved to two different housing units and were housed under quarantine protocols.
“I met with the impacted inmates fielding questions and openly discussed the positive test results, what steps jail staff had immediately implemented, and the steps being taken. We will keep them informed as we continue to handle the outbreak”, said Bischoff.
Before the current outbreak, Mohave County sheriff officials said the jail had only experienced 22 positive inmate cases and 11 positive staff cases since May 2020. This outbreak brings the jail's new numbers to 30 positive inmate cases and over 1,110 inmates being tested for COVID-19.
