Waterbury, VT – The Vermont Department of Corrections detected a new incarcerated individual case of COVID-19 during intake quarantine at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF) in South Burlington. Vermont DOC conducted the test on December 25, with results returned December 27.
Vermont’s unified system – in which detainees and sentenced individuals are housed in the same facilities – necessitates protocol that new entries from the community be cleared of COVID-19 prior to entering general population. All new entries from the community are held in intake quarantine pending three COVID tests on days 0, 7, and 12. The individual must also be clear of symptoms.
Prior to receipt of this latest test result, Vermont’s correctional facilities reported zero COVID-positive incarcerated individuals as of December 23. This follows a nearly two-month outbreak at Northern State Correctional Facility (NSCF) in Newport, in which 48 incarcerated individuals and 17 staff tested positive for the virus.
“We know the virus enters our facilities from the outside, and it is our responsibility to keep the incarcerated population as safe as possible,” said Commissioner Nicholas Deml. “Individuals in our care are ordered to serve time in our system, not to contract COVID. Our “test to suppress” model continues to protect those in our care, our staff, and all involved in the corrections system.”
Statewide, one positive incarcerated case and 17 positive staff cases currently exist across six correctional facilities, four field offices, the Vermont Corrections Academy, and Central Office.
Families and friends of incarcerated individuals are encouraged to reach out to the Vermont DOC Office of Constituency Services with questions: https://doc.vermont.gov/information-inmate-families-and-friends. Click here for the direct link to the online Friends and Family portal.
Updates and data on the COVID-19 response in Vermont’s correctional facilities can be found at https://doc.vermont.gov/covid-19-information-page. Prior press updates can be found at https://doc.vermont.gov/content/press-releases.
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