COVID-19 Outbreak at Santa Rita Jail, With More Than 100 Testing Positive

More than one hundred people incarcerated at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin tested positive for COVID-19 this week.

That's a jump from just six incarcerated people who tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday, according to Alameda County Sheriff officials.

The number ballooned to 46 on Thursday then more than doubled to 101 cases on Friday.

An attorney for the Sherriff’s office says inmates were likely exposed to the virus in the kitchen area and that there were reported cases of people in the jail who were not abiding by the mandatory mask policy.

Jose Bernal from the nonprofit Ella Baker Center says the jail is notorious for its unsanitary conditions and says those awaiting pretrial should be released immediately.

"We're talking a 1,500 plus percent increase in (a) matter of 48 hours," Bernal said "That doesn't happen without negligence. This is a highly dangerous jail and the pandemic exacerbates everything.

Department officials say that inmates who have tested positive are largely asymptomatic and are being held apart from other inmates.

Only one incarcerated person from the jail has been hospitalized since the pandemic began in March. None have died.

Around half a dozen staff have also tested positive and are in quarantine at home.

— Shannon Lin ((@LinShannonLin)