TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Six additional Vigo County Jail inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the inmate total to 108, Sheriff John Plasse confirmed Thursday.
After an inmate who died at the jail last week was found to have had the coronavirus, all inmates and staff were tested, resulting in an initial 102 inmates, or roughly 30 percent of the jail population, testing positive. Two correctional staff officers also tested positive.
All positive-testing inmates have been segregated in the jail separately from inmates who have tested negative, and the two correctional officers are isolating at home until they are cleared to return to work.
No additional tests are currently pending, Plasse told MyWabashValley.com, noting that additional testing will be done in the future as needed. No inmates or jail staff are currently hospitalized due to the virus or for any other reason, according to Plasse.
News of the inmate’s death and subsequent positive tests has brought into question the jail’s handling of the pandemic. Demonstrators gathered at the jail Wednesday evening to demand answers.
They held signs with phrases such as “Jail Shouldn’t Be A Death Sentence,” and honked their car horns to make noise.
“Our demands are to secure an independent investigation from an agency outside the sheriff’s department into the death of Frederick Whitlock, to provide for a full autopsy of Frederick Whitlock at a facility that is conducting autopsies of COVID positive patients,” Emma Crossen told MyWabashValley.com during the protest.
