Bexar County Sheriff’s Office taking coronavirus precautions amid pandemic

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office is making changes at the jail and with how deputies respond to non-emergency calls as a precaution against the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The sheriff’s office said Friday that deputies are working to limit their contact with the public, except in situations when they are most needed.

Deputies have been asked not to enter private residences or businesses and are encouraged to conduct as much business outside as possible.

Non-critical calls are also being handled over the phone instead of dispatching a deputy to the scene, BCSO said.

In addition, a medical command post has been stationed inside a controlled entryway in the Justice Intake and Assessment Annex, where inmates are processed into the jail.

Inmates will be pre-screened for illness at that location. If a fever or flu-like symptoms are apparent, the prisoner will be booked and housed apart from other inmates, officials said.

There are currently no confirmed cases of the virus within the jail.

Inmates who are medically cleared will then wash their hands before continuing through the booking process.

In order to reduce the number of inmates at the jail, officials are encouraging the enforcement of cite and release policies, and that officers file non-violent charges at large when possible.

The jail also plans to reduce its population by working with the courts to maximize GPS releases for sentenced prisoners.

Deputies said the work-release program is also being suspended until further notice.

Officials did not say exactly how long the changes will be in place, only that they are temporary and responsive to changes with the novel coronavirus situation.