L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Monday his agency had reduced the number of inmates in its jails by more than 600 amid concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

Although there are no confirmed cases of the virus in the jails, 21 inmates are quarantined at Men’s Central Jail, five are quarantined at Twin Towers Correctional Facility, and nine inmates are in isolation at the Correctional Treatment Center, Villanueva said at a news conference Monday.

“All of them are receiving the necessary level of care,” Villanueva said.

He said the Sheriff’s Department had reduced the jail population to 16,459 inmates since Feb. 28, including through the early release of inmates who had less than 30 days of jail time left to serve.


“I’ve used my authority that I have to reduce that population,” Villanueva said.

He said deputies had been directed to cite and release people when they could and would need to obtain medical clearance before booking anyone who showed symptoms. Villanueva noted that arrests across the county had gone down from a daily average of 300 to 60.

Civil rights advocates last week called for the Sheriff’s Department to speed up the release of inmates with 30 days or less left of their sentences and to assess vulnerable inmates, including those who are elderly or have an underlying health condition, for immediate release.

“People in jails are highly vulnerable to outbreaks of contagious illnesses. They are housed in close quarters and are often in poor health,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California said last week in a letter to Villanueva. The organization said it had scheduled a meeting with the Sheriff’s Department on Friday.


“Restrictive responses, such as lock-downs, would worsen the conditions for those inside, putting their health and safety at risk,” the ACLU wrote. “The only meaningful way to keep people inside and outside of the jails safe from COVID-19 is to decrease the total number of people who are incarcerated.”

Deputies began screening new inmates at its two intake centers — the Inmate Reception Center and the Century Regional Detention Facility — nearly two weeks ago.

Before entering the building, each inmate is asked if they’ve left the country recently or contacted anyone who has, and whether they have a fever or any other symptoms, Capt. Tania Plunkett said last week.

A yes answer to any of those questions triggered another set of questions, and a medical professional would respond to the parking lot to evaluate the inmate. Depending on the outcome, the inmate would either be processed into the jail or sent to a medical center.