It started with a trickle.

Fearing that the coronavirus could wreak havoc once inside densely packed jails, local officials across the country quietly began releasing some of their most vulnerable, including the elderly and chronically ill.

The goal, said National Sheriffs' Association president Sheriff Daron Hall, was to reduce the risk both to prisoners and officers, while freeing up necessary space to quarantine other inmates who may become infected.

Dozens set free during the first wave of releases early this month have now become hundreds, as state and local governments have accelerated their efforts in recent weeks to guard highly susceptible prison populations, and the staff working there, against the spread of the deadly virus.

In Cleveland, officials have moved more than 700 prisoners out of the Cuyahoga County Jail in less than two weeks; near Oakland, California, more than 250 have been set free; in Nashville, Tennessee, up to 300 have been released; and across New Jersey, hundreds of prisoners were expected to exit county jails this week under an order issued by Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner.

The ACLU estimated that the New Jersey releases could reach 1,000.

Outlining the unprecedented action, a somber state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, a former prosecutor, said he took “no pleasure” in the announcement and cautioned the newly liberated that authorities would be watching.

Authorities across the country may be watching, but they also have begun to distance themselves, in many cases, from suspects as they seek to protect themselves from infection.

“This (health emergency) is forcing us to take action that we wouldn’t consider during normal times,” Grewal said. “We have to take bold and drastic steps because when this pandemic is over, I need to be able to look my daughters in their eyes to say that we took every step possible to help all the residents of this state – including those serving jail sentences.”

Indeed, the new policies come with high-stakes risks all their own as authorities seek to balance public health needs and the safety of their communities.

"Everyone feels the weight of these decisions," said Hall, who for nearly 20 years has served as sheriff of Davidson County, Tennessee. "The real crisis right now in criminal justice is in the jails, and we have to address it."

Locking out virus:Prisons restrict movements as they try to keep coronavirus out

The extraordinary action comes as a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and civil rights advocates are calling on the federal Bureau of Prisons, the nation's largest detention system, to follow the local lead.

In a letter earlier this week to Attorney General William Barr and BOP Director Michael Carvajal, the group of senators led by Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., urged the government to begin moving the elderly and terminally ill from the 175,000 in custody.

"Conditions of confinement do not afford individuals the opportunity to take proactive steps to protect themselves, and prisons often create the ideal environment for the transmission of contagious disease," the senators wrote. "For these reasons, it is important that consistent with the law and taking into account public safety and health concerns, that the most vulnerable inmates are released or transferred to home confinement, if possible."

Describing the risk of a prison outbreak to "a fire in a dry barn," some conservative groups, including the American Conservative Union, called on the president to intervene. The groups urged the president to issue an executive order, allowing the elderly and non-violent offenders who have served two-thirds of their sentences to complete their terms at home.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the administration was considering such a move, but no action has followed.

So far, six federal inmates and four staffers have tested positive for the virus. Federal prison officials, who earlier this month halted all visitation, said Tuesday that they will now quarantine all new prisoners for 14 days in a further effort to limit the virus' spread.

Coronavirus in US:States playing an outsized role in battle, but are far from united

'Dire straits'

In many local communities, however, early-release decisions began emerging weeks ago.

Brendan Sheehan, the presiding judge of Cuyahoga County's Common Pleas Court in Cleveland, said he met with fellow judges March 11 to discuss their options amid the rapidly evolving health crisis and how it could upend operations at the overcrowded jail.

At that time, the jail population stood at 1,978; the facility is designed for a maximum 1,700 prisoners.

In short order, Sheehan said prosecutors, defense lawyers and judges began work on a plan that has resulted in the release of more than 700 prisoners. Some serving state sentences were moved to Ohio prisons, while others serving time or awaiting trial for non-violent offenses were approved for release.

Within 10 days, Sheehan said, the jail population had been reduced by 500 inmates. And more have been moved out since then.

"At first people probably thought we were nuts," the judge said. "But then the NBA cancels its season, and you say, 'wait a minute.' Everyone understood the dire straits that we were in; everyone got on the same page."

Despite the consensus action, Sheehan said the action remains a gamble.

"Our goal is to protect the community, but we're also trying to make our (criminal justice) system safe," the judge said. "Every judge is concerned; every judge tried to do the right thing."

Sweeping policy in South Carolina

Chad McBride wasn’t totally opposed to releasing dozens of prisoners from the Anderson County, South Carolina, jail as a precaution against a potential outbreak of the feared coronavirus.

As the local sheriff who oversees all detention operations, McBride knew that there were aging, ill and low-level prisoners who probably could be cut loose with little or no risk while reducing persistent overcrowding.

McBride’s beef is that he wasn’t personally consulted before more than 40 offenders were released, largely on their own promises to appear for future court hearings.

“Half of these guys are going to be back in jail in weeks,” the sheriff said, describing the releases as a "knee-jerk reaction."

Weighing release:Trump considers fate of some federal prisoners after inmate tests positive for coronavirus

West Tennessee sheriffs on what they're doing to prepare for coronavirus at county jails

The actions, however, appeared to meet a sweeping standard set by Supreme Court Chief Justice Donald Beatty, who in a March 16 memo to local magistrates and municipal judges called for the pretrial release of "any person charged with a non-capital crime" on personal recognizance bonds unless suspects represented an unreasonable danger or an extreme risk of flight.

"I do get that this is an emergency," McBride said. "I'm not saying that the solicitor (local prosecutor) and the public defenders are making unwise decisions. But I was never consulted. I think we could have provided some useful information. A lot of these people (prisoners) are nuisances, and we're going to have to deal with these guys again. We're still going to have to go after them."

The sheriff said he had specific concerns about a 20-year-old repeat offender, Stephen W. Kneece, who was approved for bond based on his promise to appear at future hearing, though he was wanted on an attempted murder charge and other felony offenses in neighboring Greenville County.

The local prosecutor's office said the bond was approved knowing that Greenville authorities had placed a "hold" on the suspect, preventing Kneece from release.

"It is typical for an offender to get (personal recognizance) bonds on low level charges in one county so he can be transferred to another jurisdiction, where he faces more serious charges, which are the priority cases," the prosecutor's office said.

Greenville County authorities confirmed that Kneece was picked up and transported to the jail there where he is being held without bond.

"We do not typically consult the sheriff, himself, when setting bonds, and did not do so in this case," the prosecutor's office stated, adding that some jail staffers did assist in identifying prisoners with medical problems that might qualify for release.

"All of this was done and continues to be done in an effort to reduce the jail population and proactively address the potential damage COVID-19 could do to a group of inmates in our county," the prosecutor's office said.

'Uncharted waters'

In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy called the county jail releases a "prudent measure."

Under terms of the court order, sentences for probation violations or municipal court convictions were either being suspended or converted to time-served, resulting in release.

Nearly 100 inmates identified for release from Wayne County Jail amid coronavirus concerns

Prosecutors and the attorney general's office could halt some releases by registering individual objections, the attorney general said.

"I don't know that there is another state that has done this," Murphy said this week at a coronavirus-related briefing. "We're doing something because we're in uncharted waters."

Contributing: Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach, Florida, News-Journal; Kirk Brown, Anderson, South Carolina, Independent Mail; Brad Zinn, Staunton, Virginia, News-Leader