The Habersham County Detention Center has lifted its 72-hour quarantine for new inmates. The quarantine hold was put in place for new inmates to undergo temperature and health screenings before being released into the general population.
With the pandemic easing, the two cell blocks being used for quarantine are “back to normal operations,” says Habersham County Jail Commander Leslie Hendrix.
While the inmates were “never on lockdown” due to COVID, Hendrix says overcrowding and the need for a quarantine area resulted in restricted free time for the inmates. Returning all four cell blocks to normal use should help alleviate those restrictions.
The jail maintains a voluntary vaccination policy. When the health department offered on-site vaccines, 22 inmates participated.
Measures taken by the jail to curb the spread of the disease appear to have worked.
While there were a number of staff members who contracted COVID, Hendrix says, “We only had one confirmed case of Covid in the inmate population.”
