PORTLAND, Maine — Twenty-seven inmates and two staff members at the Cumberland County Jail have tested positive for COVID-19 since Friday, Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce said Tuesday.
After inmates and employees showed symptoms of COVID-19 late last week, testing of inmates began, and by late Friday, two inmates and two staff members tested positive.
Testing over the weekend determined late Monday night that 24 additional inmates were positive, Joyce said.
He said a COVID response team at the sheriff's office, as well as inmate medical services staff, continue to work with the Maine Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to identify additional cases and isolate those exposed in order to prevent further spread of the virus.
Joyce said in February that he was frustrated that corrections officers were struggling to make vaccination appointments.
“The reality is, a lot of the people we deal with are ill and some of the people we deal with don’t even take this serious, so we know we are going to run into individuals coming in with the virus," he said. "I just want to make sure my staff who want the vaccination are safe."
As of March 24, about 100 of 150 people in Department of Corrections facilities had been vaccinated, Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah said during a press conference.
Shah said on April 1 that county jails could work with various organizations to do the same.
This story will be updated.