Waterbury, VT – Staff members at four Vermont correctional facilities tested positive for COVID-19 this week: one at Northern State Correctional Facility (NSCF), one at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF), one at Northwest State Correctional Facility (NWSCF), and two at Southern State Correctional Facility (SSCF). Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility (MVRCF) is on full lockdown pending test results from a presumed positive staff member.
In total, 38 Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 since March.
Vermont DOC and Vermont Department of Health (VDH) officials immediately took the following actions as standard operating procedure upon receipt of the positive test results:
- Contact tracing initiated with the Rapid Response Team.
- NWSCF incarcerated individuals and staff were tested on January 7. All results from those tests are negative.
- MVRCF incarcerated individuals are tentatively scheduled to be tested on January 11, pending test results from the presumed positive staff member.
- Others identified as having close contact with the positive individuals are quarantining.
- MVRCF is currently on full lockdown due to the presumed positive case. All other Vermont correctional facilities continue to remain on a modified lockdown status, which is the standard practice for all Vermont facilities during COVID.
No incarcerated individuals are currently positive. Staff are tested every two weeks, with three facilities tested weekly, in order to swiftly detect and mitigate the presence of COVID-19 in Vermont correctional facilities.
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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