Officials eased visitation bans at the Two Bridges Regional Jail Friday after consulting with the Maine state health officials.
The jail was closed to outside visitors and two pods housing about 100 inmates were restricted after three jail employees exhibited flue-like symptoms.
Mark Westrum, the jail administrator, said a jail employee who had worked last weekend, came into work Tuesday wearing a mask and reported his daughter had a case of Swine flu, also called H1N1 flu. He was sent home.
That evening, a second employee, who had worked with the first person, told his Lieutenant he felt sick and was sent to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick. Physicians there said he showed signs of Swine flu.
“After that report, we implemented our plan for dealing with the flu and locked down two pods,” Westrum said. “We also barred outside visitors and got in touch with the Maine Center for Disease Control and they assigned a case manager to us. A third employee called in sick and we told that person to stay home.
“Today, (Friday) the CDC cleared us and we are again allowing visitors,” he said.
No inmates have exhibited signs of illness, Westrum said.
