CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Cook County sheriff’s office announced Sunday it will be suspending all in-person visits at the Cook County Jail due to the second surge in coronavirus cases.
The suspension goes into effect Monday, the sheriff’s office announced, citing the rising case numbers as well as the stay-at-home advisory issued Thursday for Chicago and suburban Cook County.
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In June, the jail was one of the first to reinstate in-person visits, using an outdoor, socially-distant setting that involved temperature screenings for all guests before they saw inmates.
“For months, detainees were able to safely meet with family and friends,” the sheriff’s office said. “Like detainees, the people who visit them come from the community, where current test positivity rates for Chicago and Cook County are at 15.6% and 15.2% respectively.”
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At a news conference Thursday, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart implored people to take coronavirus precautions seriously, saying that an outbreak in the community could eventually enter the jail.
So far, 652 jail inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, including 127 detainees who currently are positive for the coronavirus, according to the sheriff’s office. Seven inmates have died. None are currently hospitalized.
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In total, 747 sheriff’s employees have tested positive, with 60 correctional officers currently with COVID-19 and 59 other employees; four correctional officers and one sheriff’s deputy have died from coronavirus-related causes.
The testing positivity rate at the jail was between 1% and 2%, Dart said, well below that of the public.
As of Sunday, 133,874 Chicagoans had tested positive for the coronavirus, along with 117,227 residents of suburban Cook County, the Sun-Times reported.
“Video visitation will continue to be provided to detainees as it has since April, and in-person visitation will be reinstated soon as it is safe to do so,” according to the release.