Coronavirus cases rising at state women’s prison in Raleigh
The number of inmates testing positive for the coronavirus at the N.C. Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh climbed from two to 12 cases in a day, a state prison spokesman said Monday.
That would make it the source of one of the larger outbreaks in the prison system, though nowhere near the one at Neuse Correctional Institution in Goldsboro, which is among the worst in the nation. Neuse has more than 450 of roughly 770 inmates testing positive, according to the Wayne County Health Department.
On Sunday, prison officials confirmed two cases at NCCIW, as The News & Observer asked about an inmate whose cousin struggled to get information about her condition. The cousin later said the inmate had tested positive and was on oxygen in a local hospital, but her condition was improving.
John Bull, a state Department of Public Safety spokesman, said all 12 inmates have been isolated from others in the prison, which has a capacity for 1,776 inmates. He said he didn’t know how many of them have been hospitalized or if the inmates all come from the same living quarters.
“The housing areas where they came from before they tested positive are all under medical quarantine, which means they don’t mix with other offender groups,” Bull said, noting that the prison system had begun isolating inmates in their housing units roughly a month ago to try to limit the virus’ reach.
Bull said those housing areas where inmates have tested positive are being closely monitored with inmates’ temperatures taken twice a day. Inmates are also asked if they are showing any symptoms of the disease. Sanitation is also being stepped up and all inmates have been given soap and masks, he said.
Staff also have the masks, gloves and personal protective equipment they need, Bull said. He said he did not know if any staff had also tested positive.
Testing based on symptoms
The new cases had yet to show up on the public safety department’s website. Bull said the department is working to come up with a faster turnaround time to publish test results at the state’s prisons.
Inmates’ families have told the N&O the cases they have heard about come from a dorm-style minimum security facility on the campus, which is just south of downtown.
The Neuse outbreak is causing prison and state health department officials to try to figure out how to test facilities to get a better handle on where the virus is turning up. At a news conference Monday, Dr. Mandy Cohen, the state Department of Health and Human Services secretary, said the prisons were still testing based on when symptoms emerge versus spot testing for the virus’ presence.
Bull said the state does not have the resources to test the roughly 34,000 inmates and 11,000 staff at the state’s 55 prisons. Everyone has been tested at Neuse because the outbreak grew so dramatically.
NCCIW has a medical center and is one of three prisons designated for women. The other two are Anson Correctional Institution in Polkton and the Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women in Black Mountain.
The public safety department has begun releasing roughly 500 nonviolent offenders who are vulnerable to the illness to their homes where they will be under probation. Those eligible include women who are pregnant or are age 50 or older with underlying health conditions and are scheduled for release this year.
Bull said some of those inmates have already been released from NCCIW.
Prison outbreaks
DHHS has reported nine outbreaks of two or more cases at correctional facilities, with more than 500 confirmed cases and five deaths.
The state’s only deadly outbreak reported so far at a correctional facility has been at the federal prison complex in Butner, where the Federal Bureau of Prisons reported Monday that cases have dropped to 31 inmates from 65 on Sunday. The bureau’s website did not include an explanation for the drop.
Another 25 staff members at Butner have tested positive.