Detention Center Provides COVID-19 Update – No Current Cases

The Missoula County Detention center released an update this week regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the current status of the jail population.

Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Jeannette Smith said on Wednesday that there are currently no known positive inmates, and that the Detention Facility has experienced less than two percent confirmed cases since the pandemic began.

Since the beginning of December the average inmate population has been 182 inmates.

A recent outbreak in one of the pods at the Detention Center resulted in 24 inmates and a small number of the jail staff with positive tests. As of December 23, 723 tests have been completed on inmates, and including three inmates that tested positive after being booked, there was a cumulative number of 28 positive cases.

Inmates that have recovered and cleared by medical staff have been returned to their assigned places in the Detention Center. There are additional measures currently in place to limit the spread of the virus including screening protocols during booking, weekly testing for inmates and staff who request it, availability of masks to inmates, enhanced protection for staff and ensuring that all CDC guidelines are being followed.

The Detention Center continues to work closely with the Missoula City County Health Department to ensure the safety of the inmates, staff and the public, and the Sheriff’s Office expresses its gratitude to the Health Department it its efforts to enforce COVID-19 protocols at the Detention Facility.