An aerial view of the Buena Vista Correctional Facility. Courtesy of CDOC
After days of testing, a total of at least 35 inmates and two staff members have thus far tested positive in an outbreak of COVID-19 at the Buena Vista Correctional Complex (BVCC).
Annie Skinner, Department of Corrections Public Information Officer, said in a release Monday, July 13, “At this time, 36 inmates have tested positive. BVCC is also conducting staff testing, which will continue this week. At this time, three BVCC staff members have tested positive. Follow-up testing will continue at the facility over the next several weeks.”
The testing became necessary, officials decided, after an inmate, as well as a corrections officer, tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
Skinner said earlier it has not been determined if the two cases were related, since the corrections officer involved had not been in the facility since June 30.
Prevalence testing started at the facility July 8, with the assistance of members of the Colorado National Guard with inmates quarantined and put into cohorts inside BVCC. Officials said to keep in mind that they are conducting several rounds of testing, and will be receiving and recording more results as they come in.
Chaffee County Public Health Director Andrea Carlstrom, issued the following summary:
- Total number of inmates tested: 1,085
- Total number of positive inmate tests: 36 (There was some initial uncertainty on whether 35 or 36 inmates were positive, and some test results still pending)
- Total number of staff who have tested positive: 3
- Number of staff who live in Chaffee County that have tested positive: 3
The majority of inmates were asymptomatic. The facility is on lockdown and all staff with positive test results are following isolation orders.
Carlstrom said earlier that Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and DOC would jointly perform all testing on inmates and staff, as well as the contact tracing of positive inmates, and Chaffee County Public Health (CCPH) will perform contact tracing on any Chaffee County DOC employee. Out-of-county employees will be managed by the health department in their home county. CCPH will also be responsible for reporting data from the DOC to our community. Inmates who test positive will be counted in Chaffee County’s positive numbers. Staff who test positive will be counted as positive numbers in the county in which they reside.
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