Amid heightened alarm over the novel coronavirus pandemic, Fulton County Sheriff Ted Jackson announced Monday that an inmate in the jail has tested positive for COVID-19.

The man is now hospitalized, according to a statement issued by Public Affairs Officer Tracy Flanagan. He is in his 30s and has been undergoing treatment for a chronic illness that may have rendered him more susceptible to the virus, she said.

His former roommate is now in isolation, Flanagan said. The jail staff is retracing his movements to find anyone who came in contact with him before the diagnosis, she also said, adding that other inmates in the area have not shown signs of the virus and are on lockdown at this time for their own safety.

Flanagan said the floor where the ill inmate was housed has been sanitized and that the jail has enhanced its already strict cleaning regimen.

In addition, the jail has sent 30 people home since Friday because they were nearing their release dates. Flanagan said it was a "measure to mitigate jail overcrowding during the pandemic."

Criminal defense attorney Drew Findling said Monday the mitigation efforts thus far "do not even qualify as a Band-Aid." Findling renewed his call Monday for a consistent "bright-line rule" policy of converting to signature release of nonviolent offenders.

"These jails are incubators. That's what they are," Findling said. "The best way to flatten the curve is to release the number of people who are in there."

The Fulton jail had isolated another ill inmate last week for fear of the coronavirus. But that person tested negative for COVID-19, Flanagan. Monday's announcement was about a new case.

"Jails are public health powder kegs on a good day, and this highly contagious virus could wreak havoc on the people trapped inside if we do not begin to decarcerate immediately," Southern Center for Human Rights Executive Director Sara Totonchi said in a news release following the Fulton County COVID-19 announcement. "Elderly and infirm people held in jails should be released immediately, and we must de-prioritize arrests and pretrial detention. The City of Atlanta must follow the lead of cities like New York and Los Angeles, who are releasing people from their jails in the name of public health."

The ACLU of Georgia has suggested clear policies for controlling the spread of the coronavirus among people in custody.

"We urge you to develop and implement holistic policies that align with guidance from public health experts and that will minimize the harm inflicted on people involved in the criminal legal system—and, by extension, the harm inflicted on broader communities," ACLU of Georgia's executive director, Andrea Young, said in an open letter.

"Georgia's law enforcement officers must drastically limit the number of people they arrest and detain—even if just for a short time," Young said. "The longer jurisdictions wait to act, the worse this pandemic will be for our families and communities, state and nation. Therefore, we urge you to partner with local public health experts in developing informed, immediately actionable steps to ensure that public safety and public health are as protected as possible."

On Monday, county magistrate judges were continuing to hold detention calendars inside the Fulton County jail even as the court struggled with how to make teleconferencing available to all parties and the judge, Chief Magistrate Judge Cassandra Kirk said.

Kirk confirmed that county prosecutors were already making remote appearances at jail hearings via video hook-ups but that public defenders were still appearing in person until issues involving attorney-client privilege could be resolved.  But she acknowledged that as many as six inmates were being brought into the small courtroom to await hearings along with their defense lawyers.

Kirk said she, too, has been to the jail and said jail staff were repeatedly wiping down the courtroom with disinfectant, making hand sanitizer available and encouraging social distancing.

She said that jail staff also are performing temperature checks on inmates, attorneys, and visitors.

"It is a risk I am well aware of," she said. "We are working on how to figure out how to make it safe for everyone. It's not going to be a perfect solution."

R. Robin McDonald contributed to this report.