GASTONIA, N.C. — A female inmate at the Gaston County Jail tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
Sheriff Alan Cloninger said eight inmates and eight detention center staffers and deputies are being isolated and tested for coronavirus out of precaution. According to the sheriff, the female inmate, who's been in custody since January, started feeling ill last Sunday.
She was isolated and tested for COVID-19, which came back positive.
For the last several weeks, the sheriff's ordered everyone, including inmates, deputies and staff, to wear masks.
"Hopefully, if she did get it from someone in the jail, it didn't get spread because she was wearing a mask along with everyone else," Sheriff Cloninger said.
The sheriff said starting Friday night, deputies will now be checking inmates' temperatures twice a day. Deputies will continue to check the temperatures of visitors as they walk into the complex.
Sheriff Cloninger said since the start of the pandemic, three of his detention center deputies have tested positive.
He said one deputy has recovered and returned to work. He added the pandemic's required them to think outside the box.
"[It's] very unique and a giant challenge. But, the men and the women of the Gaston County Sheriff's Office, I'm so proud of them," he said. "They've stepped up. They've embraced it. They've come up with new ideas."
The 16 people in isolation are currently awaiting test results.