CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ohio prisons might reject people convicted of crimes and sentenced to prison if they experienced exposure to coronavirus in county jails, a state prison official said.

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said the prison system would make those determinations on a “case by case basis as circumstances may require.” She did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about how prison officials would determine how that would happen or how it would affect local jails.

Cuyahoga County Jail officials said they are bracing for that reality, among a litany of other issues that could arise if a county jail inmate tests positive for coronavirus. Cuyahoga County Public Safety Director Robert Coury said county officials have been talking with state prison officials about how to handle that situation if it happens.

“They could be put in an off-site area, such as a jail that is COVID-clean until they’re medically cleared, and then the state would probably accept them,” Coury said.

County officials said they’ve been in dozens of meetings on how to best prepare for the spread of coronavirus into the jail. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said no jail inmates in the state have tested positive for the virus, and Coury said that no Cuyahoga County inmate needed testing thus far. But 13 people in Ohio -- including three in Cuyahoga County-- tested positive for COVID-19, and 159 others are undergoing tests.

Cuyahoga County Jail Director Rhonda Gibson said one of the keys to preparing the jail is securing a full floor, and possibly more, to dedicate solely to inmates needing to be isolated or quarantined because of the virus.

Gibson said she has nearly a full floor ready for that purpose. She hopes that mass bond-reduction and plea hearings scheduled for Saturday will help further reduce the jail population in case they need more space for anyone who needs to quarantined from the general population because of coronavirus.

Gibson said if an inmate shows coronavirus symptoms, they’ll be isolated until MetroHealth medical personnel in the jail can conduct further evaluations. If medical officials clear the, they’ll go into the general population. If they test positive, they’ll undergo quarantine in the jail.

Gibson said MetroHealth officials would then make a determination if those in quarantine need to be treated at the hospital, depending on their condition. Gibson said she plans to dedicate staff to make more frequent checks of people from coronavirus symptoms.

DeWine, on Friday, ordered in-person visitation suspended for all local jails and community-based correctional facilities. But the downtown county jail will likely be unaffected, Coury said.

That’s because of the county’s controversial decision to revoke in-person jail visitation in favor of video visitation, which will continue as usual.

Anyone coming to the jail to use the video terminals will not undergo screening because they are not entering the jail, Coury said.

The county promised to allow inmates in-person visitation on Fridays, but that plan isn’t in place. Coury said they wouldn't implement the Friday visits until DeWine lifts his order.

Gibson said county officials haven’t received DeWine’s orders on testing for everyone — inmates and employees alike — entering local jails, but expected to have them by early next week.

That will require everyone to undergo a screening where they will answer questions about their health and have their temperatures taken, similar to DeWine’s Tuesday order to screen anyone visiting someone in a nursing home. Gibson said she has a handful of thermometers but is ordering more.

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