4 Pima sheriff's staff have COVID-19, 1 is jail guard

No Pima inmates have tested positive for cononavirus, dep't says

Posted Apr 29, 2020

Dylan Smith
TucsonSentinel.com

Paul Ingram/TucsonSentinel.com Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier speaks to members of the Pima County Board of Supervisors in May 2019.

A guard at the Pima County Jail has tested positive for COVID-19, as have three other Pima County Sheriff's Department staffers. The corrections staffer has been on unrelated leave for two weeks, authorities said.

No inmates at the Pima County Jail have tested positive, a PCSD spokesman said Wednesday.

The corrections worker who has coronavirus has been on "unrelated leave since April 17. This reduces the overall risk of infection to other staff, as the employee has not been at work," said Deputy James Allerton.

"This is the fourth confirmed case in our department," Allerton said in a news release.

Allerton did not provide details about the other three PCSD staffers who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, including whether or not they are deputies.

"The department, through established protocols and guidance of Pima County Public Health, has placed these employees on pandemic leave and the employee's immediate co-workers were given proper notification regarding contact tracing," he said.

"During this unprecedented crisis, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department will continue to serve the public. We will do so in accordance with public health guidance. We will maintain the safest working environment possible for our employees and will continue to ensure the safety of the inmates in our custody," Allerton said.