SAN ANTONIO – A Bexar County Sheriff’s Office detention deputy has tested positive for COVID-19, officials announced Thursday.
The deputy was not showing symptoms while at work on Sunday, but reported feeling sick the following day “with symptoms consistent with nasal allergies.”
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The deputy abided by all COVID-19 mitigation efforts in place at the Adult Detention Center, which includes temperature checks prior to entering the building and utilizing hand sanitizer, according to the news release.
The deputy’s temperature was taken once more at the end of shift on Monday. Both times, there was no indication of a fever, according to the news release.
On Tuesday, the deputy sought medical attention at University Hospital, where it was discovered the deputy suffered from pneumonia. After developing a fever, doctors ordered a COVID-19 test and released the deputy from the hospital.
Hours later, the deputy sought additional medical treatment by visiting Downtown Baptist. The deputy was admitted to Baptist Hospital, and was later released after being tested once more for COVID-19.
Both tests came back positive, according to the news release. The deputy will remain on leave until he or she fully recovers.
The deputy is a 12-year veteran with the sheriff’s office, according to the news release, and oversees a unit where inmates are housed.
The deputies who were in close contact with the infected deputy have been placed on leave out of an abundance of caution, and are currently not displaying any symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
The inmates the deputy oversaw are believed to be at low risk of contracting COVID-19, according to the news release. However, they will be kept in place and monitored more closely for 14 days.
The unit where the deputy worked is in the process of being fully sanitized.
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March.
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