Lax procedures, staff apathy led to hundreds with COVID at Portland jail, inmates say
Updated Feb 11, 2021;
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In mid-January, inmates at the Multnomah County Inverness Jail started testing positive for COVID-19. Two weeks later, over 140 have been infected.
The explosion in cases — the first major outbreak at Inverness since the pandemic started — has caused tension and frustration at the east Portland jail, which houses 512 men and women.
Inmates are scared and frustrated over being forced to live in quarters with COVID-positive bunkmates. Some started an uprising Sunday that led to deputies taking shelter in a small office. Work being done on electronics upgrades has forced overcrowding. And a county audit describes staff not taking protocols seriously and being undisciplined about mask use.