CLAYTON, Mo. — COVID-19 cases are high in the St. Louis region, and it was no different for inmates at the Buzz Westfall Justice Center in Clayton. However, the number has dropped significantly since the last update.
About a month ago, the county reported that the justice center had 110 positive cases. Now, there are only 27 inmates who tested positive.
The Justice Center put COVID protocols in place early in the pandemic.
"We have worked hard to monitor symptoms, provide regular testing and keep residents who tested positive away from the rest of the population,” said Acting Director Scott Anders.
The jail currently has 868 inmates, 27 who have tested positive and seven are symptomatic, awaiting test results.
In the previous report, 30 of the 240 Justice Center staff tested positive for COVID. As of Friday, there is one employee out due to the virus.
No detainees or employees have experienced serious symptoms from the virus or required hospitalization, Anders said.
While 81% of jail staff are vaccinated, about 30% of residents are vaccinated. This number changes frequently as people are released and booked into the Justice Center each day.
All detainees are offered vaccines and the population is regularly tested.
“Outbreaks have occurred in jails across the U.S., and we experienced that as well,” Anders said. “We are hopeful that our numbers will continue to decline as we work to keep our employees and residents safe.”
Cases across St. Louis County remain extremely high. The positivity rate is 34.3 percent and average daily cases are at 1,776.
