Chicago’s Cook County Jail Becomes Largest Known Source Of U.S. Coronavirus Infections

Chicago’s Cook County Department of Corrections, which is one of the largest jails in the country, had nearly 400 cases of the coronavirus among its inmates and staff, becoming the “largest-known source of U.S. infections.”

According to data released by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, 238 detainees have tested positive for the virus and 115 employees have been infected, totaling at least 353 (and counting) cases linked to the jail. But even as more than 4,000 detainees remain untested, the Cook County Jail holds the highest number of reported cases linked to a single site, the Times reports.

In fact, according to the publication, the number of cases traced back to Cook County Jail surpasses the number of cases linked to the U.S.S Theodore Roosevelt outbreak, the Kirkland, Washington nursing home outbreak, and the New Rochelle, New York, area outbreak.

“This has been a difficult time for everyone,” said Thomas J. Dart, the county sheriff. “I’m confident we’re going to get through this,” Sheriff Dart said, “but I could really use some more definition about how long the virus can last in an environment like this.”

According to The New York Times, at least 1,324 coronavirus cases have been linked to prisons and jails in the United States, including at least 32 deaths. However, as some state and local agencies refuse to release the information, other agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Prisons, have not even tested all parties that have fallen ill. The BOP incubated 337 cases, and eight people died, the publication reports.