CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW)- The Montgomery County Jail has implemented new processes to reduce the risk of COVID-19 to their employees and inmates.

So far, there  have been no positive cases of COVID-19 at the Montgomery County Jail and officials credit proactive measures as part of the success.

From adjusting how intake is completed to giving employees PPE, the Montgomery County Jail have made several adjustments during the pandemic.

Intake

According to Sandra Brandon, spokesperson for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, upon immediate entry into the building, a member of the medical staff takes the arrestee’s temperature and asks screening questions for coronavirus.

Protective barriers were installed in booking and after the arrestee is booked, they are placed in an intake pod for 14 days, separate from general population.

If an arrestee manifests any Covid-19 related symptoms at the time of booking or during the 14 days they are housed in the intake pod, a Covid-19 test is administered and they are moved to the quarantine pod.

All vehicles used to transport inmates are cleaned and sanitized after each use. Transport deputies and inmates are required to wear masks during the transport process.

Inmate  changes

Instead of in-person court appearances, court appearances are now conducted via WebEx.

Inmate visitation have been cancelled, but all inmates are provided two 5-minute phone calls a week at no cost.

Inmate recreation is limited to two hours a day to allow a limited number of inmates in the recreation area at one time, Brandon said.

Laundry services for the inmates have increased.

Cleaning and Sanitization

Additionally, scheduled cleaning for the jail was increased with appropriate viricides used during the cleaning process.

Jail administrators speak to all inmates on a regular basis to explain new jail protocols and the reason for the changes.

Educational classes have been provided to all of the jail inmates on coronavirus, how it spreads, and how you can stop the spread through hand washing, social distancing, and reporting any symptoms.

All inmates are issued a personal bar of soap.

Care packages have been provided to all inmates containing soap, pencils, word search books, and stress balls.

All incoming commissary items are held in a storage area for three days prior to distribution to inmates.

For the protection of employees, all employees enter through one door and a nurse takes their temperature and asks screening questions for coronavirus.

All employees are provided a personal bottle of hand sanitizer and maintain daily inventory of PPE’s.