Inmates quarantined after flu outbreak at jail

Six wards in the El Paso County jail housing more than 300 inmates have been put under quarantine because of the swine flu.

According to Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Lt. Lari Sevene, there have been three confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu and other inmates have shown flu-like symptoms.

The quarantine affects 380 inmates housed in six out of the jail’s 23 wards. Four of the affected wards have been on quarantine since Saturday and the quarantine will be in effect through Friday if no other inmate shows flu-like symptoms. The other two wards were put under quarantine today and it could be lifted in five days.

Inmates that have shown the symptoms were taken to the jail’s medical ward where they remained until they recovered, she said.

“With what appears to be the very quick spread of the swine flu, and the close proximity of our population, we are erring on the side of caution,” she said.

Though under quarantine, there is not much difference in the life of the inmates, she said. The main difference is that contact visits with attorneys and parole officers are restricted unless the inmate has an imminent court case. Also, inmates in the affected wards won’t be moved or transferred to other wards during the quarantine. Since inmates’ family and friends have visits conducted by video, those meetings are not restricted she said.

“There’s not a whole lot of change in how they do business,” she said. “ This is something  we’ll be doing on and off through the flu season. We’ll be very cautions to avoid any kind of outbreak.”