Sheriff confirms 2 employees test positive for COVID-19

JACKSON, Tenn. — Madison County Sheriff John Mehr says two detention specialists with the sheriff’s office have tested positive for COVID-19.

“We’ve had three people that were tested. Two came back positive, and the other one came back negative,” Sheriff Mehr said.

Mehr said he found out about one of those positive results Monday.

One of those that tested positive didn’t initially show signs or symptoms related to the coronavirus.

They initially went to a private clinic for other reasons and ended up getting tested there.

Sheriff Mehr said the two detention specialists are currently self-isolated.

The sheriff’s office notified the Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department of the result on Monday.

The health department is working on tracing who the two employees may have had contact with.

“They have gone through and investigated who’ve they been with, who on what shift, where they spent their time they were to be exposed,” Sheriff Mehr said.

Sheriff Mehr says no inmates have been tested at this time, but that they do constantly check the temperatures of both the inmates and employees at the jail.

Sheriff Mehr said the sheriff’s office is working with the health department and is following all the health department’s recommended guidelines, which come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.