Five newly elected Georgia sheriffs and a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 while attending a statewide training event for 36 sheriffs.
Those who contracted the virus include Fulton County’s Pat Labat, Cobb County’s Craig Owens, Gwinnett County’s Keybo Taylor and Henry County’s Reginald Scandrett, the sheriffs elect confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox has not received positive results but said she is self-quarantining after known exposure.
The fifth sheriff with COVID-19 is outside of metro Atlanta and is not being identified by the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, according to executive director J. Terry Norris.
All were diagnosed with the disease while attending a weekslong mandatory training course offered by the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association in Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, north of Columbus near the Alabama line.
None of the metro-area sheriffs-elect have been hospitalized, but the first participant who came down with the disease said he wished the association had halted the course after receiving word of his illness.
Norris of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association did not provide a full list of attendees at the course, which is required for sheriffs who defeated an incumbent or won an open seat. All attended the three-week training course organized by the association, which began in mid-November and was held on weekdays.
The six cases have prompted the postponement of the course. Many of the infected sheriffs questioned whether the safety precautions were strict enough or properly enforced.
“I hate that my colleagues are going through this,” Scandrett said. “I wish they (the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association) shut the school down after the first couple of people tested positive.”
Scandrett of Henry County was the first to test positive on Nov. 24, when the course was on a week-long break. He said he felt “slightly off” on the Friday before that, and he lost his senses of taste and smell before the holiday.
“My symptoms ran the gamut,” he said, describing fatigue, fevers, chills and coughs. “I would not wish this on anyone. It’s not a joke.”
Because Scandrett tested positive while the course was on a break, the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association decided to move forward with classes after Thanksgiving. Attendees were encouraged — but not mandated — to get tested, Scandrett said.
Later, Gwinnett Sheriff-elect Taylor, a member of his staff, and one other person tested positive Monday, Dec. 7, while Cobb Sheriff-elect Owens and Fulton Sheriff-elect Labat said they tested positive Wednesday, Dec. 9.
“None of those people, once positive, were in a classroom setting,” Norris said. “Going into this, we were as prepared as I think we could have been. We followed the guidelines mandated by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council for group training.”
The association’s board worked with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to set up a pop-up coronavirus testing site in nearby Greenville Wednesday morning. That same day, Owens and Labat tested positive there.
Owens told the AJC he is in quarantine at home for seven to 10 days with his wife, who also took a COVID-19 test and is awaiting her results. He released a joint statement Wednesday night with Labat and Maddox following the postponement of the training sessions.
“In the future, we respectfully request that the association require individuals to have tested negative for the virus before attending GSA events,” they said in the statement.
Labat said Thursday morning he was experiencing mild cold symptoms and a little congestion. He and his wife Jacki are staying in separate rooms while they quarantine at home and she is awaiting results of her own test.
Labat said social distancing and pandemic safety measures were in place when he first arrived for the training sessions, but he later became concerned when some attendees stopped wearing masks on a frequent basis.
“Me and others donned masks 85% of the time,” he said.
According to Norris, masks were not required, because they are not required as part of POST guidelines. Attendees were spread six feet apart, had access to hand sanitizer and took temperature tests twice a day, he said.
Monisha Brown, Taylor’s spokeswoman, said masks appeared to be “pretty optional, and that is one of the major concerns we have.”
“He (Taylor) obviously had his mask on and he was practicing social distancing and following CDC guidelines, but not everyone was in the same mode of practice,” she said.
Taylor is also self-quarantining at home and is doing well, according to Brown. His swearing-in ceremony was originally scheduled for Dec. 19, but it has been postponed. Brown believes it will likely take place next year but said that will not prevent him from beginning his term Jan. 1.
Taylor’s comments echoed that of his metro Atlanta counterparts, urging Georgians to follow the advice of heath officials.
“While the vaccine is forthcoming, the pandemic is not over yet and we must all remain diligent to ensure the safety of our communities,” Labat, Owens and Maddox said in their statement.
The Georgia Sheriffs’ Association board is working to determine if further precautions will be necessary for the training to finish as planned in January.
Scandrett, who has now tested negative for COVID-19, said he hopes the board decides to delay the training until the pandemic is better under control.
“I’m sure there will be some fundamental changes,” he said. “But it errs on the side of wisdom that you may want to delay this.”
— Please return to AJC.com for updates.
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