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A prisoner at the Northwest state prison in Swanton has tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the first confirmed cases of the virus among Vermont’s inmate population.
The Scott administration made the announcement in a press release Wednesday morning, and detailed their response during a press conference.
“We anticipated it was not a case of if, but when, and we proactively in corrections have been responding to keep the inmate, and the rest of those housed in the facility, and the staff, safe,” Agency of Human Services Secretary Mike Smith told reporters.
Smith said that all inmates and staff at the Northwest State Correctional Facility would be tested for Covid-19 within the next 24 hours.
Three staff members at the prison had already tested positive. Smith said at least one, and possibly two, of those staff members had contact with prisoners within 48 hours of testing positive for the virus.
The Department of Corrections started testing staff for symptoms and a fever on March 23. The prison was placed into full lockdown on Monday, after multiple staff members tested positive.
The inmate who tested positive was placed in a “negative pressure cell” as soon as he started showing symptoms, officials said.
Smith said the state has also dispatched a rapid response team to begin contact tracing and isolation of inmates or staff showing symptoms.
All of Vermont’s prisons are now in modified lockdown, and beginning tomorrow all staff and inmates in the state’s prisons will be required to wear face masks.
Prisoners in St. Johnsbury were moved to another facility so St. Johnsbury could be used if a surge in prisoner cases occurs, Smith said.
Read the story on VTDigger here: First prisoner in Vermont tests positive for the coronavirus.