SIDNEY — “Since Tuesday’s newspaper article and WHIO’s coverage on Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office has received many calls regarding a possible COVID-19 outbreak within the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office,” said Chief Deputy Jim Frye in a press release Friday afternoon. “Today we received a call from the Shelby County Health Department, who had received a call from the Ohio Department of Health in concern for a COVID-19 outbreak.”
The Sheriff’s Office has one employee who has tested positive and this employee has not been in the jail and is currently in quarantine, said Frye.
“We did have an employee who was off on medical leave for a procedure and prior to surgery, this employee tested negative for COVID-19. During their hospital stay, this employee was again tested and was found to test positive for COVID-19, but was not hospitalized due to COVID-19. These are the only two employees who have tested positive, which one wasn’t even at work due to being off on medical leave,” said Frye.
At the current time, the office have four employees out on quarantine due to close contact with a possible positive person. One of those persons has tested negative and will return to work on Monday the 10th, and two are awaiting test results.
“Early on at the onset of the pandemic, procedures were put into place to attempt to keep the virus out of the office. These procedures are still in place and as a result of those, we have been able to keep the virus out of the Shelby County Jail, as we have not had any corrections officers or inmates test positive,” said Frye.
“We will continue to follow all of the Shelby County Health Department and the Ohio Department of Health’s guidelines and procedures for COVID-19. We hope that this will clarify the situation and put the public at ease regarding their Sheriff’s Office. We will continue to answer calls for service and ensure the public we would never put them at risk. The Sheriff’s Office will remain transparent and as situations change, we will ensure the public is aware,” said Frye.
