An employee at the Butler County Prison recently received a positive coronavirus test, but the jail's warden said the infection hasn't spread to others.

But several family members of inmates and one official with intimate knowledge of the jail who wished to remain anonymous told the Eagle that one to three correctional officers have tested positive for the coronavirus, and that inmates have been placed on lockdown for 23 hours per day.

Warden Joe DeMore said Thursday that there was only one jail employee who contracted the virus within the past two weeks, and so far no one else has tested positive. He said that the employee was not in contact with inmates. To date, no inmates have contracted the virus, DeMore said Thursday, but he couldn't be reached for further comment Friday.

After the outbreak in March, DeMore said the county jail stopped allowing visitors for inmates due to safety concerns, but DeMore said the phone provider there made it free for people to connect via video to inmates they want to see. However, several family members who are in regular communication with inmates said that video calls have been canceled this week.

Derik Stewart said his wife, Azza Gaines, is being held in the jail on a case related to retail theft, and added that he first heard about a coronavirus case in the jail from Gaines. He and others said that in the past week, the jail stopped allowing video calls and put Gaines and the other inmates on a 23-hour lockdown.

“Something is going on and they're keeping it from us,” Stewart, who is from Chicora, said. “We've got children and now she can't see them.”

Stewart added that Gaines, a 41-year-old, suffers from preexisting health conditions that he worries will make her more likely to die from the coronavirus if she gets it.

He said he understands that the jail's lockdowns are meant to help reduce the spread of the virus, but he didn't understand why the jail's staff would not tell the public about the case.

“She shouldn't be subjected to a possible death sentence at 41 years old with preexisting conditions,” Stewart said. “She could be put on a bracelet, no problem. She's never done anything violent. For her alleged crimes, to subject her to something like that and lock her in a cell, it's death row stuff.”

Two other women with significant others in the jail said they have been told that correction officers have contracted the virus. Another woman, who did not want to be identified, said her boyfriend is in the jail and has been in contact with the person who contracted the virus. She said that her boyfriend has not been tested.

DeMore noted that because of the confined nature of a jail, extra precautions have to be taken to prevent the spread of the virus. DeMore acknowledged that since the outbreak a total of three employees contracted the virus, but he said only one was in the jail at the time, and the one in the jail did not have much contact with inmates. Stewart and others contend that at least one to three correction officers have contracted the virus.

“I'm proud of how we responded,” DeMore said. “We have access to cleaning things in here that we wouldn't have access to outside the jail — like I can't buy this stuff for my house. It's commercial grade that makes it cleaner than most places outside the jail. That's how good of a job we're doing.”

DeMore said the most recent jail employee to contract the virus is off work for two weeks and any potential exposures were tested out of precaution.

“The jail hasn't been an area where anyone contracted it from,” DeMore said. “It's always from somewhere else. Because it's close quarters, it's easier to spread, but we're doing a good job keeping it out.”

DeMore said that video calls are still available for inmates, but Stewart and others contend that they are not.

DeMore said that since the beginning of the outbreak, the jail has instituted more than 80 “operational changes” to help reduce the spread of the virus.

DeMore said they also bought three industrial cleaners that disinfect every surface, something they do weekly. And when lawyers or employees come into the jail, they have their temperature taken and anybody with a fever is turned away.

The jail will continue with these precautionary measures, and DeMore said they have spread out the inmates in their housing units for safety purposes.

“It looks pretty good and nothing else has popped up that would be concerning,” DeMore said.