Champaign Co. Jail sees record number of inmates with COVID-19

URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - A record number of inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Champaign County Jail in mid-August.

This happened as the jail faces critical staff shortages, as WAND News has previously reported. Six total inmates have tested positive, which is the highest number the jail has seen since the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the U.S. in early 2020.

According to The News-Gazette, the Champaign County Sheriff's Office had to transfer 30 prisoners, all of whom did not have COVID-19, from the downtown Urbana and satellite jails to the DeWitt County Jail in Clinton in order to free up space for quarantine. Shannon Barrett, chief deputy with the sheriff's office, said most of these inmates were from the downtown jail.

The six inmates who arrived at the jail with the virus have been isolated. Incoming prisoners to the Champaign County Jail are required to quarantine for 14 days to help keep the virus from spreading. Arrests are up, creating more demand for space, Barrett told the newspaper.

To help with the staffing issue, the county board plans to vote Thursday on a resolution that would give an additional $40,000 to the sheriff's budget that could find sign-on bonuses for new Champaign County correctional officers.