10 inmates now positive for COVID-19 in Penobscot County Jail outbreak

By David Marino Jr., Bangor Daily News Staff

A COVID-19 outbreak at the Penobscot County Jail has spread to at least eight new inmates since last week, Sheriff Troy Morton said Monday. 

The outbreak, which began in the last week of February, has now infected at least 22 at the Bangor jail, according to the sheriff. Those numbers include 10 inmates and 12 employees and affiliates of the jail.

Some 76 COVID-19 tests of employees and 215 of inmates have been completed, Morton said. 

Eleven of the 12 staff members who tested positive have now recovered, while none of the 10 inmates have recovered yet, Morton said.

Morton last week defended the jail’s handling of the outbreak in a county commissioners’ meeting after about half a dozen people criticized his leadership. Many echoed criticism stemming from a recent letter from inmates at the Bangor jail about cleanliness and personal hygiene concerns. Some inmates also said they were not receiving their prescription medications. 

The sheriff announced the outbreak on Feb. 23, when he said six staff members had tested positive for COVID-19. The first case, in a corrections officer, had been detected the previous weekend.