Seven Inmates at Tom Bowles Detention Center in Maverick County Test Positive for COVID-19
By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2020
Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber announced on Tuesday, September 22, 2020 that seven inmates at the Tom Bowles Detention Center in Eagle Pass, Texas have tested positive for COVID-19.
The first inmate to have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Maverick County Tom Bowles Detention Center was reported on July 31, 2020. Sheriff Schmerber requested the assistance of the City of Eagle Pass and Maverick County Emergency Operations Center at that time to have all of the inmates at the Tom Bowles Detention Center tested by the Texas National Guard Medical Team, but his initial request ran into bureaucratic hurdles.
Schmerber noted that one inmate presented a sore throat, a symptom of COVID-19, and was tested for coronavirus, resulting in a confirmed positive result. Shortly thereafter, other inmates were tested with six additional inmates testing positive. All seven inmates have been placed in isolation to avoid the spread of COVID-19 within the general population of inmates.
The Tom Bowles Detention Center has approximately 175 state and federal inmates, but most are federal court pre-trial detainees awaiting trial or sentencing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Del Rio Division, in Del Rio, Texas.
Sheriff Schmerber noted that all new inmates are placed under a 14 day isolation period before being placed in the general population. The seven inmates who tested positive for COVID-19 were detected while in isolation before being placed in the general population. Schmerber added that the Maverick County Sheriff’s Department is taking all preventative measures to avoid the spread of COVID-19 within the general population.
