All New Jersey Prisons, Halfway Houses Will Test For Coronavirus

NEWARK, NJ — For weeks, family members of inmates and staff at New Jersey’s prisons and halfway houses have been demanding coronavirus testing for their loved ones. Now, state officials are planning to make it happen.

On Friday, the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) announced plans to provide COVID-19 tests to staff, inmates and residents at each of its facilities.

The saliva tests will be done in partnership with Rutgers University Correctional Healthcare (UCHC) and Accurate Diagnostics Lab, and will be administered to the agency’s 8,000 employees, as well as the 18,000 inmates currently incarcerated in state prisons.

Universal testing is expected to begin by the end of next week, officials said Friday.

According to the NJDOC, a total of 527 employees and 157 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday, with 29 inmate deaths linked to the disease.

There have been nine confirmed cases of COVID-19 at halfway houses across the state, with no inmate deaths as of Thursday.

However, prison advocates and family members have questioned the accuracy of state counts, alleging that social distancing measures aren’t being taken and staff/inmates aren’t being protected from the virus.

• See related article: Stuck In Jail During A Pandemic; Coronavirus Hits NJ Prisons
• See related article: Coronavirus Is Terrifying NJ Halfway Houses, Family Members Say

Gov. Phil Murphy said the effort is the “single largest mass testing initiative by a state department.”

NJDOC Commissioner Marcus Hicks said the COVID-19 crisis posed an “unprecedented situation” for prison administrators, including a lack of testing access.

“Despite these challenges, with the safety of our employees and those in our custody in mind, the NJDOC immediately took action to mitigate the spread of the virus from increasing access to personal protective equipment and sanitization products, to modifying our operations to accommodate for social distancing guidance – all while working on the back-end to realize the goal of universal testing,” Hicks said.

Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Chancellor Brian Strom said the university and state officials have made “tremendous strides” with respect to testing.

“I believe the saliva-based test developed by RUCDR and Rutgers-New Brunswick is a linchpin to a health and economic recovery,” Strom said.

• See related article: Rutgers Launches Fast-Results Saliva Testing For Coronavirus

The NJDOC also has plans to obtain full-service non-congregate housing for its first responders and Rutgers UCHC staff members with exposure to the virus through a program offered by the NJ Office of Emergency Management and FEMA.

The temporary housing will utilize available hotels and provide a safe place for those exposed to COVID-19 in order to minimize the risk of exposure to immediate family members or living companions, officials said.

Non-congregate housing will be made available within the next week, officials said Friday.

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