JACKSON COUNTY, Indiana — The jail in Jackson County, Indiana is taking cleaning a step further by using an ultraviolet light machine to combat the coronavirus. So far, the jail has no confirmed cases of the virus.
It's as simple as rolling the machine into a room, plug it in, and turning it on.
"With the remote to the machine we will activate the machine once all the safety checks are done," said Jail Commander Chris Everhart.
Safety checks include attaching a chain, sign, and sensor to the doorway of the room where the machine is operating.
The machine uses ultraviolet light to work against bacteria, fungus, or viruses like COVID 19. It disinfects a room at a time.
"I can put the machine in a room, say a cell, and while it's cleaning the cell I can go on about my daily duties," said Everhart.
That's because the machine is controlled by a remote which will let Everhart know when the room has been disinfected.
Everhart says these machines have been used in hospitals for years, but they just recently became available for use in jails. The Jackson County Jail got its machine about two and a half months ago before the coronavirus hit.
"At the time we had four inmates with cancer," said Everhart, explaining the hope was to give those inmates the cleanest environment possible during chemotherapy. "So when the COVID-19 pandemic happened we were very fortunate to have it at the facility."
"Having this at our hands and being able to use it, I mean it just makes us all feel more comfortable," said Jackson County Sheriff Rick Meyer.
Everhart says he uses the machine daily as the jail takes precautions against the coronavirus.
"It's having that peace of mind as a jail administrator to provide the cleanest environment possible for your staff and inmates," he said.
The machine costs $40,000 but Everhart says, it's well worth that price tag.
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