The Department of Corrections reports 89 prisoners tested positive for COVID-19 at a state prison complex in Lexington.
The first cases were discovered when two prisoners were tested at a hospital earlier this month. It’s unclear if the two prisoners from Lexington Correctional Center were hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms or if they were asymptomatic and sent to the hospital for something unrelated.
When the men’s tests came back positive, the Department of Corrections tested all of the nearly 200 prisoners living in their unit.
87 of those tests came back positive and the unit was isolated from the rest of the prison. The corrections agency is working with the state health department to determine whether it’s possible to conduct mass testing in the prison complex.
The Department of Corrections prioritizes COVID-19 tests for prisoners who show symptoms and have been screened for other illnesses – or have been exposed to infected people. The agency also tests prisoners scheduled for transfer, release or who leave their prison for other reasons.
These measures built off of early Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 guidelines. Currently the federal agency also suggests testing asymptomatic prisoners to prevent spreading the disease, a practice Oklahoma hasn’t picked up.
As of late afternoon Wednesday, 93 prisoners were reported COVID-19 positive across the entire prison system.
The Department of Corrections has canceled visitation at all state facilities this weekend.
