Several cell blocks are under quarantine at the Anderson County Detention Center, following an outbreak of COVID-19 at the jail.
The quarantine kicked into effect Monday night, suspending volunteer and visitor services for at least the rest of this week.
According to the county Sheriff’s Office, inmate workers and staff members moving between different areas of the jail will be wearing masks and there is no movement in or out of the detention center itself.
The Sheriff’s Office says no one has become seriously ill and that the quarantine and masking measures are precautionary.
The outbreak coincides with rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state. Dr. Martha Buchanan, lead medical consultant for the Division of Acute Disease Epidemiology at the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, spoke with South Carolina Public Radio Tuesday, and said that while cases are not spiking nearly as fast as they have in previous upticks. She called the latest increase in cases “slow and steady,” and said it is expected as school resumes and autumn looms in the state.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office plans to reevaluate the situation at the jail this weekend.
