Members of NC National Guard help out Forsyth County Health Department Share Updated: 5:31 PM EST Jan 11, 2021 Share Updated: 5:31 PM EST Jan 11, 2021
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Show Transcript GETTING COVID-19 VACCINES INTO PEOPLE S ARMS. HELP HAS ARRIVED AT LEAST IN THE GREATER WINSTON-SALEM AREA. MEMBERS OF THE STATE NATIONAL GUARD ARE HERE TO GET THINGS MOVING A LITTLE QUICKER. THEY ARE LOOKING AT ANOTHER WAY OF SPEEDING UP THE PROCESS AS WELL. WXII 12 S JUSTIN SHRAIR TOOK SOME OF YOUR CONCERNS TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT HIMSELF. WHAT DID YOU LEARN? JUSTIN: AND KENNY, GOOD EVENING. AS MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD ARRIVED IN THE WINSTON-SALEM AREA TODAY, THE FAIRGROUNDS ARE ALSO BEING LOOKED AT AS A MASS VACCINATION SITE. IN THE MEANTIME, THE HEALTH DIRECTOR SAYS HIS MAIN MESSAGE IS FOR FOLKS TO BE PATIENT. THESE ARE PICTURES OF MEMBERS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA NATIONAL GUARD INSIDE THE FORSYTH COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT JUST DAYS AFTER THEY WERE MOBILIZED BY GO
COVID-19 cases at the Forsyth County Jail have surged again, with a total of 185 people, including 157 inmates and 28 staffers, testing positive since the outbreak began, according to the latest numbers released Friday by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.Â
On Tuesday, the state health department reported a total of 116 people infected during the jail outbreak, 97 inmates and 19 staffers.
The jail outbreak is the second largest in the state, behind the Mecklenburg County Jail which has had 405 cumulative COVID-19 cases. Thirty cases are active. There are 29 residents in custody with COVID-19, one resident has been hospitalized and an additional 293 residents are housed in either respiratory isolation or respiratory quarantine due to potential exposures, according to a spokeswoman for the Mecklenburg jail. There have been no COVID-19 related deaths there, she said.
Sheriff Kimbrough Speaks about COVID-19 in the Forsyth County Jail
Sixty-eight inmates at the Forsyth County Jail have tested positive for COVID-19, the Forsyth County Sheriffâs Office announced during a news conference Monday morning.
Thatâs an 84 percent increase from the most recent number of 37 inmates that the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported on Friday. The state agency reported then that a total of 48 overall positive cases were at the Forsyth County Jail, including 11 staff members.
That total represented the fifth-largest COVID-19 outbreak among 28 correctional facilities listed by DHHS.
During the news conference, B. Williams, director of nursing at the jail, said 568 inmates were tested Tuesday and Wednesday. On Monday morning, the sheriffâs office had 149 test results back. Out of those 149 test results, 68 came back positive, representing a 45% positivity rate.