POLK COUNTY, IOWA, Iowa — The Polk County Jail is seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases.
The sheriff's office now reporting 15 staff members have tested positive.
That's the highest number of staff cases at one time since the pandemic began.
One woman, reaching out to Local 5 On Your Side, concerned about the safety of a family member at the jail.
Jamie, who wanted to remain anonymous, said, "so there's absolutely no way for social distancing at all. Especially when you have cell mates. They're not trying to keep them separated to social distance."
The Polk County Sheriff's Office told Local 5 they isolate new inmates before sending them to general population.
"Just like anything else, if it's a flu bug, or anything else, just like in general public, our numbers follow those same guides usually," said Sgt. Ryan Evans with the Polk County Sheriff's Office. "It's not uncommon for us to see that increase when Iowa itself is seeing that increase."
As of Friday there are 20 inmates who have active COVID-19 cases.
The jail saw it's peak of positive cases back in June when 127 inmates tested positive for the virus.