April 9, 2020 — The number of Harris County Sheriff’s Office employees diagnosed with coronavirus has climbed to 38, with the overwhelming majority of infections occurring among those working in the county jail. Two employees are hospitalized as a result of contracting COVID-19.
As of Thursday, 29 Sheriff’s Office jail staffers had tested positive for COVID-19.
There are currently 219 Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies, detention officers and support staff on quarantine for possible COVID-19 exposure. Eighty-eight previously quarantined employees have now been cleared to return to duty. Seventy-seven Sheriff’s Office employees have been tested, but are still awaiting results. Twenty-eight employees have received negative test results.
The Sheriff’s Office is working with Harris County Public Health to identify co-workers, inmates, and members of the public who may have had close contact with the diagnosed employees so they can take necessary precautions, including quarantine and testing for those with symptoms.
As of Thursday, five inmates in the Harris County Jail have tested positive for COVID-19. An additional 69 inmates are in quarantine with symptoms indicative of the virus and are awaiting test results. The number of inmates on observational quarantine without symptoms because they were possibly exposed to someone with the virus now stands at 1,233.
All jail employees have been issued protective masks and are instructed to wear them while on duty. All inmates have also been issued masks. Regular temperature checks are performed daily on all employees as they report for duty.
Sincerely,
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez
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“Deputies took time to pause Wednesday morning for a Harris County Sheriff's Sergeant battling COVID-19. Sgt. Raymond Scholwinski is in critical condition at a local hospital after testing positive for coronavirus."
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"It's not that all of a sudden the virus comes along and people become abusive — it's already there," Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in an interview. "Many people will not be killed by Covid-19, but instead they'll die at the hands of an intimate partner."
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“They go through training how to learn how to approach a vehicle to make a stop, how to answer a door when they’re going to a domestic violence call,” said Rynda Scholwinski, the wife of Sgt. Scholwinski who is in critical condition. “But you can’t even train against this.”
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Do You Or Your Family Need Assistance?
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In keeping with our 5th core value, our Wellness Unit as well as our Chaplaincy are available to assist you. Should you or your family have a physical need for hard-find-supplies, financial assistance, emotional and or spiritual support, please reach out to us.
If you are in need, please reach out to:
Don Savell 832-233-4387
Lt Shannon Bowdoin 936-776-6537
Some have asked about making donations to assist our HCSO Teammates that have been impacted by COVID-19.
Donations can be made at:
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HCSO Annual Firearms Qualification
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Effective immediately, annual firearms qualifications has been temporarily suspended until further notice. This also pertains to sections that have previously scheduled qualifications.
If you have any questions, please contact Sgt. Tim Fite, myself or the HCSO Academy Range Staff. HCSO Academy Range: 713-274-4951.
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Child Care Options for Essential Harris County Personnel
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Harris County recognizes that with school closures, and the closure of some child care facilities, some families — including Harris County employees — are faced with the challenge of finding child care solutions while still being called upon to provide essential services during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Judge Hidalgo's office has partnered with Collaborative for Children and others to offer a resource to help address this challenge.
The Child Care Now registration page is now available to assist essential Harris County personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. You will be able to register for child care options through this program. As part of the program, applicants may request financial support from the State of Texas, facilitated by Workforce Solutions, to pay for child care services.
Additionally, Harris County employees may request child care service provider information from our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) by contacting the Cigna Voluntary EAP directly at 1-855-626-0739.
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Webinar First Responders, Stress Management And Coronavirus
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How to take care of yourself and your family during this crisis
Coronavirus transformed our lives nearly overnight. Suddenly, we’re bombarded with messages: Stay home, shelter in place, avoid sick people, flatten the curve, not enough ventilators, you may be a carrier for days without symptoms. It’s no wonder people all over the world have a higher collective stress level than any time in modern history.
And if you work in emergency services, you can’t stay home or avoid sick people. The extra layers of worry on top of jobs that are nerve-wracking by design can quickly become overwhelming. During this free webinar, former paramedic, law enforcement trainer and resilience expert Mike Taigman will explain how stress affects first responders and provide strategies you can use to manage during the long haul of this pandemic.
You’ll learn:
- How stress during emergencies such as the coronavirus outbreak impacts our bodies at a cellular, psychological and emotional level.
- Strategies you can start to use instantly to lower your stress and build resilience during the coronavirus crisis.
- Practical ways public safety leaders can help decrease stress for their personnel on the frontlines of this epidemic.
To Register go to:
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HCSO Online Training Access
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Just a reminder that advanced training classes for TCOLE credit are available from HCSO Online training. This website can be accessed from any internet connection, home or work, just use the link below.
Your login and password for HCSO Online training are your current HCSO Desktop login and password.
Use your TCOLE username and password to log in.
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FREE ClassPass Digital Membership For Harris County Employees
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Staying active is not only part of your routine – it’s often a critical component of your mental well-being. Enjoy ClassPass’ digital solutions for free and experience your favorite classes on-demand from the comfort of your home.
Click
HERE
to sign up for free.
As a Harris County employee, you have access to a $0, 0 credit plan which gives you over 1,000 audio and video workouts to choose from!
New to ClassPass? So glad you’re giving it a try! You can sign up for a digital only membership via the link and select “Create an Account”. From there, you will be prompted to sign up for this digital plan.
Already have a membership? Awesome! You can access all of our audio and digital content under the “Videos” tab and on your app home page.
Had a membership in the past? Welcome back! When you click the link above, please select “Log In”, from there, if you get a pop up, make sure to type:
classpass.com/videos
into your URL.
Your membership is month to month, so you can cancel or switch your plan at any time.
On that note, I’d also like to introduce our Customer Experience team - they can be reached at
ClassPass.com/contact
. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your membership, they’ll be ready to help.
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COVID-19 Precautionary Response And Preventive Measures
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Harris County is closely monitoring all new developments associated with Coronavirus (COVID-19) and we want to ensure that our employees are educated on the known risk(s) of exposure to the virus and the proper protocol. Your health and the health of your co-workers is of the upmost importance. If you are exhibiting symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or meet any of the potential exposure scenarios, you should contact your immediate supervisor (via telephone), as well as the Public Health Task Force Employee Hotline number at (713)274-3880 or by email
PHTaskForce@eng.hctx.net
to obtain additional information related to self-quarantine procedures, including protocol(s) and verification.
Staff should take preventive actions (washing hands, covering mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, etc.) to help avoid the spread of respiratory viruses. To assist in this effort, departments are urged to take the following actions:
- Purchase supplies of disinfectant including hand sanitizer and place in common worksite areas (lobbies, conference rooms, kitchens, restrooms, etc.);
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces; and
- Employees with health concerns should contact their healthcare provider or you may refer them to:
Harris Health Ask My Nurse Hotline : 713-634-1110
Thank you.
HCSO Human Resources Division
(346) 286-1644
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