As authorities scramble to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Sheriff’s Department said Monday it has started accepting fewer people into the seven county jails and received the OK for the early release of some inmates, a move that could free up beds for quarantine needs.

The early releases could start Monday evening.

Those moves come as San Diego Superior Court announced it will suspend most operations, including criminal proceedings, through April 3.

The Sheriff’s Department told the Union-Tribune it would release some inmates and cut back on jail bookings. It also outlined other changes inside the jails, including having inmates eat in their cells, stopping in-person visits and suspending jail programs.


The idea is to free up extra beds so the jails can create inmate quarantine areas as needed and give jailers the flexibility to move healthy inmates into other housing areas. Department officials did not give a target number of beds they want to open.

The jails already have some symptomatic inmates in quarantine, including one who had a previous travel history. Department spokesman Lt. Ricardo Lopez was not more specific about the number in quarantine.

Lopez said in an email that the agency has worked with the courts, the District Attorney’s Office and the Public Defender’s Office to address the potential for the virus in the jails.

“The goal is to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in our jails, while still meeting the safety needs of the community,” Lopez said.


The Sheriff’s Department runs the seven county jails and accepts people arrested by agencies throughout the county. Some jail inmates are awaiting trial, while others have been found guilty and are serving time after being sentenced by a judge. As of Monday, the county jail population was just under 5,300.

Over the weekend, the department obtained approval from the presiding judge of the San Diego Superior Court to begin releasing some inmates early. Under the law, with the OK from the court, the department can cut up to 30 days off a sentence. Those releases could start Monday evening.

The number of inmates who might be eligible for early release was not immediately available.

At least one other county in California has moved toward releasing some inmates early in the face of coronavirus concerns. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Monday that his department had cut the number of jail inmates by more than 600, according to the Los Angeles Times. Some of that reduction comes from releasing inmates who had fewer than 30 days left to serve.


Also on Monday, San Diego implemented what officials called “emergency booking acceptance criteria” in order to cut the number of new inmates taken to jail.

That means the facilities won’t be accepting most people accused of misdemeanor crimes or targeted for misdemeanor warrants. Also not likely to be booked are those accused of violating social host or marijuana use laws. The decision to turn away or accept new inmates is at the discretion of the watch commander on duty.

Other changes happening inside San Diego’s county jails over the next 30 days include canceling all religious programs run by volunteers, and all inmate programs — including job and education programs — run by paid or volunteer staff.

Inmates also are being reminded to practice social distancing and good hygiene.