SARS-CoV-2 Mitigation Strategies, Testing, and Cases at 254 Jails in the US Southeast, October 2020 to May 2021

Abstract

Objectives. To characterize severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mitigation strategies, testing, and cases across county jails in the Southeastern United States, examining variability by jail characteristics. Methods. We administered a 1-time telephone survey to personnel of 254 jails in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina between October 2020 and May 2021. Results. Some SARS-CoV-2 mitigation strategies (e.g., screening at intake, isolation and masking for symptomatic persons) were commonly reported (≥ 75% of jails). Other measures, such as masking regardless of symptoms (52%) and screening at release (26%), were less common and varied by jail state or population size. Overall, 41% of jails reported no SARS-CoV-2 testing in the past 30 days. Jails with testing (59%) tested a median of 6 per 100 incarcerated persons; of those jails, one third reported 1 or more cases of positive tests. Although most jails detected no cases, in the 20% of all jails with 1 or more case in the past 30 days, 1 in 5 tests was positive. Conclusions. There was low testing coverage and variable implementation of SARS-CoV-2 mitigation strategies in Southeastern US jails during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(11):1589-1598. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307012).

FIGURE 1—

Incarcerated Persons Tested for SARS-CoV-2 in the Past 30 Days per 100 Population Among Jails in (a) Alabama, (b) Georgia, (c) North Carolina, and (d) South Carolina: October 2020‒May 2021 Note. SARS-CoV-2 = severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. There were 246 jails with nonmissing data on population size and testing. Each point corresponds to 1 jail at the time of survey administration (with estimates corresponding to the past 30 days), and dashed lines correspond to the tests in the past 30 days per 100 persons in each state’s general population.

FIGURE 2—

SARS-CoV-2 Test Positivity Percentages in the Past 30 Days, Among Jails in (a) Alabama, (b) Georgia, (c) North Carolina, and (d) South Carolina: October 2020‒May 2021 Note. SARS-CoV-2 = severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. There were 149 jails reporting ≥ 1 SARS-CoV-2 test. Each point corresponds to 1 jail at the time of survey administration (with estimates corresponding to the past 30 days), and dashed lines correspond to the mean test positivity in the past 30 days reported for each state’s general population.