Waterbury, Vt., August 5, 2020 – Test results show 147 Vermont inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Miss. Vermont Department of Corrections ordered testing of all inmates held at TCCF on Thursday, July 30. At this time, 62 inmates have tested negative, eight have refused, and two tests are still pending.
Testing was ordered after six inmates returning from TCCF tested positive upon arrival at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland on Tuesday, July 28. There are 219 Vermont inmates currently located at the Tallahatchie facility. One Vermont inmate still housed in Mississippi tested positive for coronavirus last week and is included in the positive test count.
In Vermont, DOC and Department of Health staff completed mass testing of 370 inmates and 140 staff at Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport on Monday. One inmate tested positive. The positive inmate was already in intake quarantine when testing was conducted and has now been moved to medical isolation. All staff tests are negative.
An inmate at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility also tested positive for COVID-19 this week. That inmate was already in intake quarantine and is now in medical isolation. Contact tracing is complete.
Daily updates on the COVID-19 response in Vermont’s correctional facilities can be found at https://doc.vermont.gov/covid-19-information-page.
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