Marathon County Jail managing first COVID-19 outbreak in a year

WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) - The Marathon County Jail is going back to stricter COVID-19 protocols as it deals with an outbreak of the illness.

Sandra La Du, the jail administrator said there were about 27 inmates and three corrections officers whose tests came back positive this morning. She said at least some of those individuals are vaccinated for COVID-19, which she hopes means individuals’ symptoms will not be as severe. They suspect the outbreak happened during group activities, where vaccination was required.

The jail is implementing its COVID-19 protocols from last year for the time being. It is still taking in people for severe crimes, however, it is limiting some of the access to the jail for crimes that would not cause a danger to the public and instead utilizing other options and monitors.

The last time there was a COVID-19 outbreak in the jail was around October, 2020 when they managed a few consecutive outbreaks.