Jail to be Placed Under Lockdown Protocol

HACKENSACK, N.J. – A 31-year-old Mexican national in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at the Bergen County Jail has tested presumptive positive for COVID-19.

The individual was sent out for medical evaluation at Hackensack-Meridian Health University Medical Center after displaying symptoms on Monday and declared presumptive positive by their rapid response test later that evening. The test will be sent to the Center for Disease Control for confirmation. The individual has since returned to the Bergen County Jail under quarantine and is receiving medical care.

At this time, only one individual has tested positive at the Bergen County Jail but medical staff are continually monitoring all inmates and ICE detainees in the facility. Any inmates or ICE detainees displaying symptoms will continue to be sent to a local hospital for further evaluation and testing.

Sheriff Cureton has ordered the Bergen County Jail to be placed under lockdown protocol which includes:

• Limiting movements of county inmates, ICE detainees, and staff. Inmates/detainees will be permitted out of their cells, no more than 2 cells at a time.
• Opening a COVID-19 isolation unit for county inmates and ICE detainees who are presumed positive or positive;
• Continuing to allow attorney non-contact visits with their clients. If any attorney wishes, they can provide their telephone numbers, which can be unblocked so that their clients can make free, unrecorded telephone calls to them;
• Continuing to offer disinfectant spray, a bleach-based solution to sanitize floors and surface space, hand sanitizer, and soap in every housing unit at the jail. The administration is encouraging both staff and the jail general population to use these tools often and liberally;
• Suspending intake from U.S. Immigrations Customs and Enforcement until further notice;
• Continuing nursing staff screenings of all employees, vendors, detainees, and inmates who enter the jail.

The Bergen County Jail is following CDC and Federal Bureau of Prisons COVID-19 guidelines for law enforcement. Administration officials are also working in close cooperation with the Bergen County Department of Health Services and the New Jersey State Department of Health.

The Bergen County Jail has a fully operational 24/7 medical unit within the facility with a full-time doctor and nursing staff. It is among the cleanest and most advanced facilities in the state with exceptional medical care. The Bergen County Jail is in full compliance with the standards set forth by the New Jersey Department of Corrections, is a triple accredited facility, and has undergone two successful inspections from Nakamoto and the US Marshals Service in the past calendar.

The NJDOH cites 701 positive COVID-19 cases in Bergen County as of Tuesday afternoon.  County Executive Tedesco is in self-quarantine following exposure to an infected individual.

As of 2pm on Tuesday March 24th, the NJDOH cites 3675 COVID-19 cases statewide, with 44 deaths, 428 negative test results from the state lab, and 45 persons under investigation at the state lab.

COVID-19 Cases by County
Data is provisional and subsequent to revision.

645 Positives Pending Further Information

Bergen County:

701 Positive Test Result(s)

Essex County:

342 Positive Test Result(s)

Monmouth County:

288 Positive Test Result(s)

Middlesex County:

277 Positive Test Result(s)

Union County:

246 Positive Test Result(s)

Hudson County:

234 Positive Test Result(s)

Passaic County:

216 Positive Test Result(s)

Morris County:

204 Positive Test Result(s)

Ocean County:

180 Positive Test Result(s)

Somerset County:

102 Positive Test Result(s)

Mercer County:

58 Positive Test Result(s)

Camden County:

51 Positive Test Result(s)

Burlington County:

42 Positive Test Result(s)

Hunterdon County:

25 Positive Test Result(s)

Gloucester County:

19 Positive Test Result(s)

Sussex County:

18 Positive Test Result(s)

Warren County:

15 Positive Test Result(s)

Atlantic County:

6 Positive Test Result(s)

Cape May County:

3 Positive Test Result(s)

Cumberland County:

2 Positive Test Result(s)

Salem County:

1 Positive Test Result(s)