GREENE COUNTY, Mo. — A protest over inmate rights took place today at the Greene County Jail.
As of Aug. 13, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office says 83 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, along with 29 officers or staff, with 23 results pending.
Sheriff Jim Arnott says the outbreak initially happened in one of the mobile pods and that one housing unit is currently under quarantine with 78 inmates.
Arnott says they are cleaning facilities multiple times every day, but inmates’ masks are only changed twice a week due to short supply.
Activist Larry Flenoid had this to say during today’s protest.
“This is the COVID unit right here that we are standing outside of,” Flenoid said. “These are the conditions they’ve got them living in. There ain’t no felony, no charge, no nothing that deserves these living conditions, and we’re going to stand out here and fight for these people. They’re yelling at us through vents and walls telling us the situation that they’re dealing with.”
The sheriff’s office says that due to the high number of questions they are getting, they will only be releasing info on Mondays and Fridays about COVID-19 in the jail.
