First Orange County Inmate Tests Positive For Coronavirus

SANTA ANA (CBSLA) -- An inmate in the Men's Central Jail in Santa Ana has tested positive for COVID-19.

The inmate is the first in Orange County to test positive for the virus, Carrie Braun of the Orange County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday.

The inmate's name was not released, but the O.C. Sheriff's Department did say the man is in his 40s. He recently began showing flu-like symptoms and was placed in isolation, according to Braun.

Braun said the man has "moderate symptoms" and does not require hospitalization.

Sheriff's officials said they have an electronic-card system that can trace the inmates the man has been in contact with, so they are working to notify these contacts about potential exposure to coronavirus.

Those inmates will be closely monitored for symptoms and their movements in the jail will be restricted for up to two weeks. However, they will not be placed in isolation unless they show symptoms, Braun said.

Ten Orange County Jail inmates fell ill with flu-like symptoms recently and were isolated, Braun said. On Sunday, coronavirus test results came back negative for eight of them so they were released from isolation.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)