COVID-19 remains a problem for incarcerated inmates and correctional staff in the Wabash Valley.
In January, the Vigo County Jail had 44 positive tests from 28 inmates, 15 staff members and one contracted staff member. Those 44 positives are an increase from the 18 new positive tests reported for December.
Meanwhile, the Federal Correctional Complex at Terre Haute reported 56 inmate cases and 22 staff positives as of Wednesday. That’s up from six inmate and three staff cases on Jan. 13, but down from 96 inmate cases reported by the Bureau of Prisons on Jan. 25.
The Rockville Correctional Facility led the Indiana Department of Correction in positive inmate cases Thursday with 28 active cases of COVID-19.
The Wabash Valley Correctional Facility at Carlisle led the state in positive staff cases with 26.
The IDOC’s COVID-19 dashboard showed Rockville also reported seven staff cases, while WVCF had 23 offender cases.
The Putnamville Correctional Facility reported nine offender positives and 22 staff positives on Thursday.
The January COVID-19 status report from the Vigo County Jail showed positive tests from 15 inmates booking into the jail, five inmates in quarantine and eight inmates in the general population. That takes into account the total positive tests from September 2020 through January 2022 to 216 inmates and 53 staff members.
No jail inmate or staff testing positive in January was seriously ill or died from COVID-19, the monthly report to the U.S. District Court said, but two inmates with low oxygen levels were admitted to the hospital in December as a precautionary measure. Those inmates returned to the jail the next day
Vaccines are available to inmates and staff. Inmates can request a vaccine through the kiosk system. In January, 19 inmates were vaccinated. A total of 197 inmates have been vaccinated as of Jan. 31.
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