PEORIA COUNTY, Ill. — Peoria County Sheriff Brian Asbell confirms the number of inmates at the Peoria County Jail has risen to 30 after eight more cases of COVID-19 were reported Wednesday night.
“The information comes in at all different times, so we don’t know who are the negative results, which makes it really hard to quantify the positivity rate and the numbers that are pending,” Asbell said.
The Peoria County Jail is currently awaiting COVID-19 test results for up to 180 inmates.
Asbell said he has been meeting with Peoria County State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos and Chief Judge Paul Gilfillin regarding the spread of the coronavirus.
“We’re just looking at the impact on the courts, as well as trying to suppress the number of people that come into the jail with intake to the jail due to arrests,” Asbell said.
13 Peoria County Jail employees are currently off-duty due to COVID-related scenarios, either testing positive themselves, awaiting test results, or isolating at home due to exposure risks.
