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"The Bergen County Department of Health Services has received confirmation of five of the 6 suspected cases of mumps in the Bergen County Jail with no additional cases at this time being reported," said Michael Pagan, a spokesman for County Executive Jim Tedesco. "A sixth suspected case was negative."
A lockdown continued at the jail. The lockdown will be lifted on July 6 if no new cases are found, authorities said.
"Isolation means no additional inmates accepted and no one out until we're comfortable that there's no risk of exposure," Tedesco said during a news conference Tuesday in Hackensack.
No staffers have shown any signs of infection, Tedesco said, adding that 1,000 doses of a vaccine were ordered for staff and inmates.
Inmates due for release were being inoculated.
"We want to make sure we don’t put this out into the community at large," Tedesco said.
All inmates and staff were being screened, the county executive said.
Jail officials will monitor remaining everyone to determine if symptoms develop and treatment is needed, he said.
Meanwhile, any new inmates will be taken to the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny, as well as to any other facilities the county can find, he said.
Suspicions were raised after several inmates showed signs of swollen glands, fatigue and headache, said Michael Hemsley, the jail's medical director.
Mumps isn't uncommon behind bars, Tedesco added."What you see in the community often makes its way into inmate facilities," he said.
"The plan is to ensure the safety of the population that is inside the jail," while containing the outbreak, the county executive said.For that reason, the entire jail was in lockdown, Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton said.
Attorneys and visitors were allowed but in "a controlled environment [with] o access to inmates," the sheriff said.
Otherwise, he said, it will be business as usual.
ALL PHOTOS: Cecilia Levine
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