Juvenile has NC’s 1st confirmed case of coronavirus in a state youth institution
North Carolina officials announced Friday the state’s first confirmed coronavirus case in a juvenile being held in a state-run youth institution.
The individual at Pitt Juvenile Detention Center in Greenville entered the facility already infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 but remains asymptomatic, state officials said in a news release.
“It is important to note this juvenile was infected not at the facility, but in the community before they came to us,” said William Lassiter, deputy secretary for Juvenile Justice, in the release.
“Because the Juvenile Justice Section has taken the proactive step of testing all juveniles upon entry into our facilities, we can effectively prevent the spread of the virus to other juveniles we house,” he added.
Pitt Juvenile Detention Center is an 18-bed facility and one of seven N.C. Department of Public Safety juvenile detention facilities in the state, according to the DPS website.
The release did not provide the person’s gender or home county, but the website says juveniles awaiting a court hearing or placement are typically housed in the institution nearest their home county.
In May all the juveniles at the Stonewall Jackson Youth Development Center in Concord got tested for COVID-19 after a staff member self-reported testing positive, The Charlotte Observer reported. No juveniles showed symptoms, but seven employees thought to have had close contact with the infected worker were told to self-quarantine at home.
In June, state officials began testing all young people within 72 hours of entering state facilities, according to Friday’s release.
Earlier this month, test results indicated none of the youths in North Carolina detention centers and youth development centers were infected, the release stated.
The test result for the juvenile in Greenville, who entered the facility Monday and was tested Tuesday, came back positive Thursday, the release stated.
The juvenile had been quarantined pending the test result and will now be held in medical isolation until deemed recovered under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and upon advice of the center’s medical provider, all juveniles at Pitt JDC have been quarantined until they are retested for COVID-19 in the next few days, the news release stated.
Officials said they can enforce social distancing in juvenile detention centers and that each juvenile has an individual room, the release stated.
All staff members of the state Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice can get free, anonymous COVID-19 testing, Friday’s release stated.
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 5:24 PM.