TUOLUMNE COUNTY, Calif. — The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that 16 inmates in three housing units have tested positive for COVID-19.
The sheriff's office said in a Facebook post that the Tuolumne County Jail is required to immediately reduce the overall jail population to 50%.
"The temporary reduction will allow infected inmates adequate space to quarantine," the sheriff's office said in the post.
To make the reduction possible, the sheriff's office said 13 inmates classified as “non-violent offenders” with less than a month on their sentence will be released from custody in the next 12 hours.
“The safety of our community is my number one priority,” said Tuolumne County Sheriff Bill Pooley. “We are working to strike a balance between keeping our residents safe and ensuring that the inmates, who are under our care, are adequately treated for COVID-19.”
The discovery of the positive cases among inmates came as staff worked closely with Department of Public Health officials to test inmates for COVID-19.
