Nearly 400 Inmates Tested for COVID-19 at Troup County Jail

Following large gatherings and protests at the Troup County jail on Wednesday over COVID19 concerns, the Troup County Sheriff’s Office, working in conjunction with the District of Public Health, began testing all inmates for the novel coronavirus at 8:30 Friday morning.

A release by the Sheriff’s Office detailed that nearly 400 inmates would be tested and that the process would take a few hours. As of Wednesday, Sheriff James Woodruff confirmed that there were 25 known active positive cases in the jail. The sheriff acknowledged, however, that the true number of confirmed cases would not be known until all inmates were tested.

Results from today’s tests should come back within the next 3-5 days, and the Sheriff’s Office is asking that the public refrain from asking for test results during the meantime. Once the test results are back, the Sheriff’s Office will release the information, as well as use the information to develop and announce a strategy to combat COVID-19 and protect inmates moving forward.

Of note, inmates do have the option of refusing a COVID-19 test, but those who do refuse must sign a waiver expressing their voluntary refusal.

The author of this article can be reached via email at jboggs@troupcountynews. net.