COVID-19 testing planned Thursday for all Hamilton County Jail inmates, staff

Police vehicles line the street Wednesday, June 15, 2016, outside of the Hamilton County Jail.
Police vehicles line the street Wednesday, June 15, 2016, outside of the Hamilton County Jail.

All Hamilton County Jail inmates and staffers will be tested for the novel coronavirus Thursday, sheriff's office officials confirmed Wednesday.

The mass testing comes after a federal inmate, who had been transferred from Bledsoe County Correctional Complex, tested positive for the virus on Monday.

More than 500 Bledsoe County prison inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, making it one of the counties with the highest number of cases per resident across the country, according to data compiled by The New York Times.

The inmate transferred to Hamilton County had completed his state sentence and had entered into federal custody and the decision was made to house him in Hamilton County, sheriff's office spokesman Matt Lea told the Times Free Press.

No other Bledsoe County prison inmates were transferred.

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