By Heart of Illinois ABC

BLOOMINGTON – There is no COVID-19 outbreak at the McLean County Jail, according to the sheriff, despite claims on social media that the virus is a problem there.

Sheriff Jon Sandage told the McLean County Board’s Justice Committee Tuesday evening that there have been seven inmates who’ve tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of pandemic last March. During that time, Sandage said close to 3.100 people have been booked into the jail.

No inmates or staff have the virus now, according to the sheriff.

“To have seven cases of COVID since March is absolutely amazing,” Sandage said.

The sheriff said people circulating inaccurate information have a political agenda.

“I would like to see more praise for our staff for the job they’ve been doing rather than the prying that is occurring because somebody wants to push their agenda of decarcerating the jail,” Sandage said.

Early on, Sandage said jail staff tested inmates every five days until there were no more COVID cases, but he said regular testing did not resume when two inmates tested positive in late November.

Sandage said both infected inmates mainly stayed in the same cell block and jail staff thought they had the virus contained.

Praising Sandage and his staff was McLean County’s chief public defender, Carla Barnes, whose staff has daily contact with jail inmates to prepare for court proceedings.

“We feel more than safe with the sheriff’s COVID protocols,” Barnes told the committee.

“I know that our sheriff and his staff have done an amazing job to limit the number of COVID cases to a handful in 10 months,” she said.

Heart of Illinois ABC can be reached at [email protected].