VA Prisons: 13 Inmates, 5 Staffers Test Positive For Coronavirus

VIRGINIA — The Virginia Department of Corrections said 13 inmates and five staff members of the state's prison system have tested positive for the new coronavirus, or COVID-19. The department has not provided any updates on the condition of the inmates or staff members.

Six of the positive cases are at the Central Virginia Correctional Unit #13, a women's facility in Chesterfield County, the department said Saturday. Six are at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women in Goochland County. One inmate is at an undisclosed communtiy hospital.

Among the staff members who have tested positive for the coronavirus, two, including a contract nurse, work at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women. One officer works at the State Farm Correctional Complex in Powhatan County. One officer works at Indian Creek Correctional Center in Chesapeake. And one employee works at the Norfolk Probation and Parole office.

The Department of Corrections has canceled visitation and volunteer activities at all state prison facilities until further notice.

Virginia Correctional Enterprises, a state agency that uses prison labor, is manufacturing about 30,000 sneeze and cough guard masks per day for prisoners and staff, the Department of Corrections said. Multiple masks are being made for each prisoner and facility staff member.

"Once enough masks are available for [Department of Corrections] staff and offenders, we will evaluate whether we can make them for other state and local government entities," the department said.

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All prisoners are required to wear the masks at all times unless instructed to remove it by a staff member, according to the department.

Last Monday, the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office said an inmate in his 20s at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center tested positive for the coronavirus. The inmate, plus four other inmates who had been in close contact with the inmate, were isolated after the positive test came back. The Fairfax County jail holds roughly 1,000 inmates at any given time.

The number of reported positive cases of the new coronavirus increased by 230 in Virginia on Sunday, with deaths now standing at 51, according to the Virginia Department of Health. The 2,637 positive cases of the coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 respiratory disease, includes 431 hospitalizations, up from 390 hospitalizations on Saturday. Over the past two days, the number of reported deaths from COVID-19 has increased by five.

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