Detention Center employee dies; second staff member positive for COVID-19

CAMP VERDE - The first announcement of positive COVID-19 tests among anyone inside the Camp Verde Detention Center was made Friday — and at the same time, authorities announced an employee who had worked at the jail has died.

Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that a staff member at the county jail tested positive Thursday for the potentially deadly illness.

The Sheriff’s Office also announced a man who was a part-time contract employee and counselor of Wexford Health Sources, who worked in the Detention Center, has died. This employee was assigned to the Restore to Competency program, or RTC.

The employee, described in the news release as a senior citizen with underlying health conditions, passed away Monday, April 27, after several days in the hospital, undergoing treatment for various medical concerns.

During his hospital stay, the man was tested for Covid-19, in part due to his advanced age, the release states. On the day following his death — Tuesday, April 28 — test results came back positive.

The release says Sheriff Scott Mascher immediately directed his staff to ascertain which jail personnel and inmates had contact with the employee and set up testing.

The part-time employee had limited staff and inmate contact, the release says, and the week prior to his hospitalization, he only worked “a few” hours.

During routine medical screening protocols that have been done for all staff entering the building in April, he did not exhibit any signs or symptoms of COVID-19, the release says.

Since testing began, based on that case, one additional jail support staff member tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday, April 30, and is currently quarantined.

Detention Center command staff is working with Wexford to monitor and test staff and inmates with assistance from Yavapai County Community Health Services. YCCHS will receive the test results of detention staff and complete the follow-up investigation of their contacts outside of the jail, to include family and friends.

As of Friday, based on the testing results so far, there are no other confirmed cases of COVID-19 for Detention Center staff and no positive cases for inmates.

At the state level, the Arizona Department of Corrections reports 50 COVID-19-positive inmates, with 35 of them being at the main Florence facility. Eight such inmates are housed at the state prison in Marana.

There have been 238 state inmates tested; 26 tests are pending.