First Inmate at House of Correction Tests Positive for COVID-19

Sheriff Thomas Hodgson reports the first positive test of an inmate for COVID-19 at the Bristol County House of Correction in Dartmouth. A corrections officer has also tested positive in recent days, the 11th staff member to record a positive test.

According to a press release, the county inmate was sent to St. Luke’s Hospital for a preexisting medical condition on April 29. He was given a COVID-19 test on April 30. He received notice of a positive test on Friday, May 1 and returned to the jail in Dartmouth, where he was and currently remains housed in a single cell in the medical unit. The Sheriff's Office says he is being closely monitored by health care professionals.

The medical team has been continuously assessing the housing unit he was in before being transported to St. Luke’s. No inmates in that unit have reported symptoms linked to COVID-19.

The corrections officer didn't feel well on April 30, left the facility and got tested. He was notified of the positive test on May 2. Currently, seven Bristol County Sheriff’s Office staff members are away from the facility recovering from COVID-19. Four others have fully recovered and returned to duty.

“There are almost 70,000 COVID cases in Mass., including more than 4,000 in Bristol County,” Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson said Tuesday afternoon. “We feel very fortunate that none of the cases among our staff or the incarcerated population is life-threatening.”

Information from the Bristol County Sheriff's Dept.