Will County Jail reports first case of COVID-19 among inmates

The Will County Jail has had its first inmate test positive for the coronavirus, the sheriff’s office announced Tuesday.

The inmate was brought to the Adult Detention Facility on Sunday for a “non-bondable offense,” the Will County sheriff’s office said. Per standard procedure during the coronavirus pandemic, he was quarantined in a cell after passing his medical screening, and was scheduled to stay there for 14 days.

The next day, however, the man had an “unrelated medical emergency” and was taken to a local hospital, the sheriff’s office said. He was also tested for COVID-19, and came back positive.

The man was taken back to the Adult Detention Facility and placed in a negative airflow cell, the sheriff’s office said.

The man never came into contact with the general population, the sheriff’s office said.