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With Nearly 4,000 Cases, Fresno County Jail’s COVID-19 Tally Tops Nation’s Correctional Facilities

So many people have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Fresno County Jail that the total number of cases now exceeds the entire incarcerated population. According to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, nearly 4,000 inmates and staff members have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic started, a total that the New York Times ranks as the largest of any single correctional facility in the country . However, sheriff’s office spokesperson Tony Botti says the high caseload in the jail is merely reflective of what’s happening in Fresno County as a whole. Indeed, the jail’s overall positivity rate, just over 11 percent, is on a par with the county’s. “We have so many people come into the jail and go out of the jail,” Botti says. “So, much like it spreads in the community and how we just had a spike in the last couple of months, the jail is really no different.” That revolving door also explains why 3,800 inmates have contracted the virus , even though only 2,500 are currently
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