4 JDSO employees test positive

Published 6:00 pm Friday, July 10, 2020

JENNINGS – Four Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff’s Office employees have tested positive for COVID-19, including one employee who is in the hospital.

Chief Deputy Chris Ivey confirmed Thursday that three of the employees, including himself, are quarantined at home after recently testing positive for coronavirus. Ivey has been self-isolating for about two weeks and is expected to return to work next week.

A third employee has been hospitalized since Monday after testing positive for COVID-19.

Most of the employees worked in the administration building or the 911 building, he said.

“We are continuing to monitor the situation and following all the protocols to keep this from spreading about other employees and the jail,” Ivey said.

To date no inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, he said.

All employees are encouraged to protect themselves and others by wearing masks and following the necessary safety precautions and preventive measures.

Since March, the Sheriff’s Office has continually ramped up cleaning and sanitation efforts in the jail and administrative offices following recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Louisiana Department of Health.

Visitors are asked to wear a mask and the office has limited public access to its offices.

The number of COVID-19 cases continue to spread in the parish. Jeff Davis Parish reported 28 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday with an additional death reported. To date the parish has 549 reported cases and 11 deaths, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.