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.
Multnomah County battles workplace outbreaks, complaints
Employees complain of notification failures and shortcuts. Management says they re doing their best.
At the headquarters of the Multnomah County Department of Health, nine workers at the county s HIV clinic tested positive for COVID-19, forcing numerous others to quarantine and the clinic to shutter its doors for a four-day stretch in mid-December.
At the county s Donald E. Long Detention Center for juveniles, nine workers and three youth tested positive since the end of November, and jails operated by the Multnomah County Sheriff s Office have seen outbreaks of their own, with 13 inmates and 30 employees infected.
Multnomah County battles workplace outbreaks, complaints
Employees complain of notification failures and shortcuts. Management says they re doing their best.
At the headquarters of the Multnomah County Department of Health, nine workers at the county s HIV clinic tested positive for COVID-19, forcing numerous others to quarantine and the clinic to shutter its doors for a four-day stretch in mid-December.
At the county s Donald E. Long Detention Center for juveniles, nine workers and three youth tested positive since the end of November, and jails operated by the Multnomah County Sheriff s Office have seen outbreaks of their own, with 13 inmates and 30 employees infected.