CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Nueces County Sheriff's Office is in the process of testing all its employees for COVID-19.
Sheriff J.C. Hooper told County Commissioners today that 80 percent of his employees have been tested.
And 96 of them tested positive for COVID.
Forty-four of those employees have recovered.
Two remain in the hospital. One is in serious condition and scheduled for surgery today.
The sheriff also says the staff has really stepped up to keep the jail running.
“That's been a real positive thing out of this, the people who have stepped up,” Hooper said. “We have 49 that some of them worked in the jail back in the day and many of them never worked in the jail. And we had to secure temporary licensing.”
Hooper says thanks to them, he has been able to keep the jail operating at the mandated staffing levels.
The sheriff wants to make sure first responders get financial compensation for their hard work.