COVID-19 is spiraling into more state prisons. The total number of infected prisoners reached nearly 400 on Thursday, with nearly 3,000 prisoners are in quarantine and over 1,000 tests are still pending.
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections declared three prisons as COVID-19 hot spots: Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Taft, Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McLoud and Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington.
In a written release, the agency announced it is cancelling visitation inside those prisons. A spokesperson says extra precautions will be taken to stem the spread of the disease including providing prisoners more protective gear.
It’s unclear who will be tested. The Department of Corrections and the Oklahoma State Department of Health are using discretion to prioritize testing. In the past, tests have mostly been reserved for some prisoners who show COVID symptoms and those who come into contact with an infected person.
The families of state prisoners and advocates have been calling for the state to ramp up prisoner testing since the early months of the pandemic.
States that mass tested prisoners in April found thousands of cases of COVID-19 among many prisoners who showed no symptoms.
In Oklahoma, the disease has spread to at least 28 state prisons, halfway houses and detention facilities. Thirteen prisoners with COVID-19 have been hospitalized. The corrections agency wouldn't say if the disease was the reason for their hospitalizations.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, at least 726 prisoners and 162 corrections employees have contracted COVID-19.
