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St. Joseph Co. Jail Visitation In South Bend Suspended Due To COVID-19 Concerns

Justin Hicks/WVPE

The sheriff of St. Joseph County announced changes in the visitation policy at the jail as a result of concerns about COVID-19.

Here is the statement that was released:

St. Joseph County – March 12, 2020 – While there are presently no known cases of COVID-19 among the staff or inmates housed inside of the St. Joseph County Jail, as a precaution Sheriff Redman has suspended non-professional visitations indefinitely as of March 12th. This decision follows similar steps taken by the Indiana Department of Corrections and other area county Jails. Attorneys, probation officers, and other professionals will still be permitted to visit their clients; however, these visits will now be moved from full-contact private conference room to the non-contact visitation area of the jail.

 

“We have been monitoring this situation closely for over two weeks. Based upon the recommendations of state and county health and corrections officials, at this time I have chosen to take this step to help protect both our jail employees and inmates from the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” Sheriff Redman explained.

 

 “I need to commend our jail medical staff and jail corrections officers for all their hard work planning and preparing for this health crisis,” Redman continued. “We have medical staff on-site 24/7 monitoring our employees and inmates. Tomorrow the jail will also begin conducting CDC protocols on each arrestee brought into the jail as an additional precaution.” This precautionary decision will continue to be re-evaluated during the coming days and weeks.