Staff take over kitchen duties after COVID-19 outbreak at county jail
Feb. 19—Kitchen duties typically performed by inmates of the Frederick County Adult Detention Center are now in the hands of staff in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.
After going 10 months without a case among inmates, four inmates tested positive for COVID-19 as of Jan. 2.
There are more than 200 inmates in the adult detention center. Typically, eight inmates and kitchen staff work each shift to prepare and serve food, according to the sheriff's office. Their duties also include cleaning the kitchen, unloading supplies from a truck and stocking. Those who work in the kitchen earn time off of their sentences. Inmates were removed from their jobs throughout the detention center after the outbreak, as a preventative measure, spokesman Todd Wivell said.
Correctional officers would monitor the inmates as they worked, but now, COs are among the staff helping feed inmates, in addition to part-time employees, warehouse staff and civilian kitchen workers. Some staff came in on the weekends to help with the effort, the sheriff's office said. Tyra White, dietary supervisor, leads the kitchen.
"No one stopped to pause when this pandemic hit our facility," Randy Martin, assistant director of inmate services, said in a news release. "We all worked together to get the job done and made sure that each and every inmate received their three meals a day."
Assistant Warden Mike Cronise commended everyone who stepped up, noting in the release that Martin personally cooked more than 250 grilled cheese sandwiches for one lunch.
"This was a total team effort and not one time did we hear someone say, 'This is not my job!'" Cronise is quoted as saying.
The change in kitchen staffing started Jan. 3, according to Wivell. Detention center leadership and the facility's health care provider will continue monitoring active COVID-19 cases and determine when it is safe for inmates to return to the kitchen.
The detention center has 10 cases of COVID-19 among inmates currently and has had 22 since the start of the pandemic, according to Wivell. One inmate was hospitalized, recovered and has since returned to the detention center. There have been nine staff cases, but no staff members are positive at the moment.
Vaccinations are underway for high-risk inmates. Of 44 inmates identified as high-risk, 34 have received their first shots of the vaccine, Wivell said. The other 10 declined vaccination. The 34 who were inoculated are scheduled to receive their second doses around Feb. 23.
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