COVID outbreak at Manatee County jail continues to grow despite partial lockdown

Bradenton Herald - 9/5/2021

Sep. 5—MANATEE — A COVID-19 outbreak continues to rage at the Manatee County jail, with a more than 60% increase in cases less than two weeks after the jail was placed on a partial lockdown.

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office put the jail on the lockdown on Aug. 18 in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus. At the time, 75 inmates and 19 deputies and civilian employees who work at the jail had COVID-19.

As of Monday, 137 people incarcerated at the jail had COVID and 15 deputies and civilian staffers were out on COVID leave.

Two of those inmates were hospitalized on Monday because of COVID-19. One corrections deputy, Douglas Clark, died last week after being hospitalized for nearly two weeks.

To date, the Manatee County jail has had 177 inmates contract the virus. At the Manatee Sheriff's Office, 46 employees are out on COVID leave and 379 workers have tested positive

At the Sarasota County jail, 32 inmates and 32 jail deputies and civilian staffers had COVID-19 as of Monday. At the time, one of those inmates — who was never brought to the jail — and two jail staffers were hospitalized. Five inmates and four jail workers have been hospitalized for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

"Obviously it is of great concern the situation that is happening, not only within the courthouse but the jail itself," Public Defender Larry Eger said on Friday. "Since the vast majority of inmates who are housed at the Manatee and Sarasota jails are our clients, we [are] using Zoom conference and telephone conference with our clients and for court hearings."

But some circumstances call for his staff to meet with clients in person, he said. Eger represents the 12th Judicial Circuit, which includes Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties.

Starting Monday, all jury trials were suspended in the circuit by Chief Judge Charles Roberts because of increasing positivity rates in all three counties amid the ongoing surge driven by the delta variant.

"My primary concern is the primary welfare of my staff, the health and welfare of my clients and the health and welfare of anyone who comes in contact with either," Eger said.

Those concerns led Eger to request that anyone brought from the jail for a hearing or trial be rapid-tested.

"For the time being that has been shelved because of the halting of all trials and non-essential hearings. But this problem remains unaddressed," he said.

The newly formed SRQ Coalition for Justice is demanding more transparency from the Sarasota and Manatee sheriff's offices on current conditions and preventive protocols in place at both jails. The coalition is a collaboration of The Leader's Rights Organization & Affiliates, Women's Voices of Southwest Florida, Black Lives Matter Manasota, Party for Socialism and Liberation, and ANSWER Suncoast.

Some inmates at both jails have reported their COVID symptoms have gone ignored and that they haven't received proper treatment, according to the SRQ Coalition for Justice.

In Manatee, the coalition reports that workers go between housing pods with little to no PPE. In Sarasota, the group reports no hand sanitizer, and those incarcerated denied testing and adequate PPE. Staff has been described as indifferent, with some coming to work knowing they have COVID-19 symptoms.

"The deplorable conditions in which the inmates and staff face are immeasurable," the coalition said in a statement released Thursday afternoon. "We would like to remind you these are your families, your friends, and your neighbors. They deserve a fighting chance and they deserve better. A jail sentence should not be a death sentence."

The coalition is calling upon both sheriff's offices provide a daily report with accurate and current information to the total cases at the jails, as of the day prior; number of new cases; protocol and number of sick inmates being taken to the hospital; number of pods and staff in quarantine; status on vaccinations at the jails; number of staff refusing to wear face masks; number of staff that have tested positive; and number of staff in quarantine.

Vaccinations continue to be offered at both jails, according to each sheriff's office.

At the Manatee County jail, 550 inmates have received one dose of the Moderna vaccine and 255 have been fully vaccinated. Of the current cases among inmates, 35 were fully vaccinated and 42 received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In Sarasota, of the 32 inmates who have COVID-19, two were fully vaccinated and two had only received one shot. The county has administered more than 800 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

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