HealthDay Reports: Most Jurisdictions Report COVID-19 in Correctional Facilities
According to new research, 86 percent of 54 state and territorial health department jurisdictions have one or more COVID-19 cases.
Most Jurisdictions Report COVID-19 in Correctional Facilities
FRIDAY, May 8, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- At least one laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 case has been reported in correctional and detention facilities in 86 percent of 54 state and territorial health department jurisdictions, according to research published in the May 6 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Megan Wallace, Dr.P.H., from the CDC COVID-19 Emergency Response, and colleagues report on the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in correctional and detention facilities. Aggregate data on COVID-19 cases were reported to the CDC by 37 of 54 state and territorial health department jurisdictions during April 22 to 28, 2020.
The researchers found that at least one laboratory-confirmed case was reported by 86 percent of the jurisdictions from a total of 420 correctional and detention facilities. COVID-19 was diagnosed in 4,893 incarcerated or detained persons among those facilities and in 2,778 facility staff members; there were 88 and 15 deaths in incarcerated or detained persons and among staff members, respectively.