Nearly entire Louisiana prison dorm tests positive for virus

https://apnews.com/f31d0a19272193a0f461eb96e5c3d23d

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Nearly every woman in a Louisiana prison dormitory has tested positive for COVID-19, and two-thirds of them showed no symptoms, state figures show.

The women at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel are housed in a dormitory for some of the inmates moved out of the Louisiana Correctional Women’s Institute after floods in 2016, Department of Corrections spokesman Ken Pastorick said last week. He said 155 women without symptoms were tested after 39 became ill with the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

As of Monday, 192 inmates had tested positive, including 66 who had symptoms, according to Department of Correction statistics. The unit has about 195 inmates, though the number fluctuates, Pastorick said Monday.

The chart showed 41 dormitory staffers diagnosed with COVID-19 but did not indicate total staffing. Pastorick said he would check on the total number of staffers and whether all were tested.