BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Erie County Sheriff's Office said Friday night that one employee with the Jail Management Division has tested positive for coronavirus, aka COVID-19.
Sheriff Timothy B. Howard said the employee was tested by a private facility and is now at home, in quarantine.
Fourteen workers who had contact with that deputy have been sent home, and two inmates who did as well have been isolated in a unit with eight others who have shown symptoms of the disease.
The sheriff's office says there's still enough staff to run the jails, and while social distancing is tough, it's easier because there just aren't that many inmates right now.
"Our holding center is at 47 percent capacity, our correctional facility is at 39 percent capacity. So that allows us greater flexibility to facilitate that social distancing with respect to inmate movement and housing unit assignments," Sheriff Howard said.
The sheriff's office says all deputies, patrol units, and everyone in the jail division are being fitted for N-95 masks.