Staffer at federal prison complex in Butner tests positive for coronavirus
The Federal Bureau of Prisons reported Thursday that a staff member at the Federal Correctional Complex at Butner has tested positive for the coronavirus.
The bureau reported on its website that eight prisons each have one staff member who tested positive, while 10 inmates at six prisons have tested positive and are in isolation. None of those inmates are at Butner.
The report said that of the eight staff members, one had no inmate contact and that was at the prison in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Efforts by The News & Observer to reach Butner officials and the bureau’s press office were unsuccessful. In a news release, the bureau said:
“As of March 26, out of over 146,000 inmates in our custody, ten inmates have tested positive. Out of over 36,000 staff, eight staff have tested positive. We believe that the low number of cases to this point, in a system this large, is a testament to our effective planning and execution to-date.
That said, as warned by the Surgeon General of the United States, we expect to have more cases as the virus continues to spread in the general community. We will continue to diligently support all persons system-wide while doing everything we can to do our part in mitigating the spread of the virus.”
A news release from the bureau on Tuesday said that on March 13 it had taken “significant measures to prevent the COVID-19 virus from spreading in its facilities.”
“These measures include temporary restrictions on visitation, restricting inmate movement to only required and mission-essential transfers, increased health screening of staff and inmates, and increased sanitary measures,” the news release said. “In addition, all Bureau facilities have been directed to designate available space for isolation and quarantine for inmates who have been exposed to or have symptoms of the virus.”
The bureau said it has also begun a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all new inmates.
The complex, located in Granville County, includes the bureau’s largest medical center with space for 948 inmates, and low and medium security prisons that can house a combined 3,767 inmates.
Lisa Harrison, Granville’s public health director, said in an email she was unaware of the report and was following up.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 5:10 PM.