An unvaccinated adult in custody tested positive Sept. 5, 2021 for COVID-19 at the Multnomah County Justice Center. The person is isolated, the involved housing area is under quarantine and repeat rapid testing is being conducted to minimize potential spread. That testing identified one additional case.
These are the first new cases at the Multnomah County Detention Center and Inverness Jail since a single case at the Justice Center on Aug. 16. Two rounds of rapid testing were performed in the involved housing after that positive. All of those tests were negative and the housing area was removed from quarantine on Aug. 31.
Because of the potential disproportionate impact of a highly transmissible virus on people in custody, since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the County has reduced the number of people in detention, increased testing and increased surveillance and routinely offered vaccines and vaccine incentives to all adults in custody.
Staff at both detention centers also continue to follow mask, distance and disinfection protocols.
“But there is no doubt that the vaccine is our best tool for reducing the spread of COVID variants and reducing the risk of serious illness and death for individuals,’’ said Dr. Michael Seale, Corrections Health Director.
Multnomah County led the state in offering vaccines to people in custody beginning early in 2021. About 77 percent of adults in custody as of Sept. 1 were vaccinated.
Since Aug. 23, the County has offered vaccine incentives to adults in custody similar to those being offered in the community. Adults in custody are offered $100 for the first shot and $50 for the second with the money deposited directly into the person’s account in detention. Those incentives have increased the uptake of the vaccine, Dr. Seale said.
Last month, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury ordered all Multnomah County employees, including in the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office and Corrections Health staff, to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18. This is now a minimum qualification for County employment.
Employees who are not fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by the deadline will be deemed to no longer meet the minimum requirements for employment at the County and will receive notice of layoff on Oct. 1.
Employees who do not submit their vaccine status, or a request for an exemption based on a medical need or a sincerely held religious belief, will be assumed to be unvaccinated.
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