Nearly ALL Inmates At Louisiana Prison Dorm Test Positive For Coronavirus

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Another day, another dismal bit of news about the spread of coronavirus in the U.S. prison system.

Nearly every woman in a Louisiana prison dormitory has tested positive for COVID-19, and two-thirds of them showed no symptoms, reports The Associated Press.

Inmates at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel, Louisiana are suffering from COVID-19 according to Department of Corrections spokesman Ken Pastorick. Pastorick, told the AP that 192 inmates tested positive for coronavirus in the unit that has about 195 inmates, “though the number fluctuates.”

Two-thirds of the inmates tested showed no symptoms but were tested after 39 women became ill with the disease. 41 staffers at the dormitory also reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.

The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office released more data on the disease’s spread in penitentiaries statewide and reported that tests for 775 inmates showed 130 had COVID-19 and 621 didn’t, with results not yet in for 24.

 

“Another 5 inmates refused to be tested and are quarantined, according to the statement from Sheriff Marlin Gusman and compliance director Darnley Hodge. They said 70 of 358 sheriff’s office employees have the virus with 35 test results pending.”

The news about the Louisiana prison comes after 1,828 inmates at Ohio’s Marion Correctional Institution tested positive for the virus.

Nearly 29,700 people in Louisiana have tested positive for the coronavirus, and 1,991 have died, report state health officials.