Horry County jail sees massive drop in number of positive COVID-19 cases
Three weeks after a massive COVID-19 outbreak infected dozens of detainees at J. Reuben Long Detention Center, the county’s jail now only reports a handful of cases.
Horry County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Brooke Holden said there are three active coronavirus cases at the facility.
On Dec. 7, the Sheriff’s Office announced 56 COVID-19 cases among the jail’s population. The Sheriff’s Office oversees the jail’s operation.
At that time, inmates were put in isolation and taken to the hospital on an as-needed basis. They were also under medical supervision. Just weeks later, though, the center’s case count dropped to single digits.
There are roughly 570 people currently being held in J. Reuben Long Detention Center.
From the onset of the COVID - 19 pandemic, detainees transported to the Detention Center, regardless of origin or arresting agency, are screened through a series of questions and temperatures are taken before intake.
Any detainee who admits close contact or appears to be symptomatic is fitted with a mask and further screened by a nurse. They are also put in quarantine.
All new inmates are assigned to observation pods for 14 days until they are placed in general population units, officials say. The jail also follows South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s recommendations as well as those from the federal Centers for Disease control.
Horry County has seen 17,795 total cases since the pandemic started and 260 coronavirus-related deaths, according to the latest data from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
This story was originally published January 1, 2021 at 1:45 PM.
