The Howard County Jail reopened Friday, Dec. 11, and all inmates housed elsewhere were returned. The jail was forced to close down on Nov. 28 after all of its jailers, along with Sheriff Mike Neal and two of the county’s four deputies, tested positive for COVID-19. Only one inmate tested positive for the virus.

At the time of the closure, 15 inmates were housed in the jail. All were transported to Cooper County. On Friday, 11 inmates were brought back. Sheriff Neal explained that some of the inmates who did not return to the jail here were either released on bonds or were released following a 24-hour hold. One was returned to the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Since the shutdown, Sheriff Neal said he has increased measures to protect against exposure to the coronavirus. Masks will now be mandatory for anyone in the jail, although optional for inmates while in their pods. However, anytime inmates leave a pod they will have to wear masks. The jail has undergone extensive cleaning since the shutdown, and more intensive cleaning measures have been adopted.

Neal said that the two deputies who tested positive for COVID-19 had both been working inside the jail. Both the jail and the Sheriff’s Department are in the same building.

To house inmates in Cooper County costs about $35 to $40 per inmate per day. The costs will be paid from CARES Act funds the county received in May. The bill for housing inmates for only three days in November totaled $690. The housing bill for December has not yet been received.

Howard County received more than $1.1 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was passed by Congress in March to help states and local governments combat the COVID-19 pandemic.