COVID jail outbreak in Portland followed months of warnings February 09 2021
As 109 inmates test positive, critics blast jail safety, say Sheriff Reese needs to beef up response
For months, Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese s employees have told him and his managers he wasn t doing enough to fight COVID-19 in the jails he oversees.
Weeks after the outbreak at Inverness Jail in Northeast Portland began, Reese announced somewhat improved safeguards. But employee unions and inmate advocates say he still hasn t gone far enough.
Since the start of 2021, the outbreak has reached 109 inmates who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Reese spokesman Chris Liedle defended precautions at the jails and adds that the vast majority of the inmates who ve tested positive so far have not had major symptoms.
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.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said during a New Year's Day press conference following two successive days of people damaging property and clashing with police downtown, that he plans to push harder in 2021 for accountability when people commit "criminal conduct."