LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — On Thursday, criminal justice reformers are calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to release the elderly and people with preexisting conditions as cases are spiking in jails, including here in Central Florida.


What You Need To Know

  • Cases at Lake County Detention Center increase
  • All positive cases are in individual cells in a unit together
  • Sheriff's office says most cases are asymptomatic

Cases are going up in the Lake County Detention Center, now at 100, up from 59 last week. That is about one in every 10 inmates.

Those numbers include at least 85 inmates and six employees. All positive cases are housed in individual cells in a unit together.

Statewide infections at correctional facilities are now up to 1,692, up from 200 cases in April.

In Lake County, the sheriff's office stated that most of the cases are asymptomatic and no one has been hospitalized.

After two negative tests, they can be released back into general population.

The criminal justice reformers are calling for DeSantis to give early release to the most vulnerable across the state to help prevent spread of the virus.

Some other governors are making those changes, but DeSantis has remain opposed.

The Florida Department of Corrections said all inmates and staff have been given masks, and they say the spread of the virus is under control.

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