COVID-19 infections in Lansing inmates nearly triple after asymptomatic cases found
The number of inmates testing positive for the new coronavirus at the Lansing Correctional Facility nearly tripled Friday after 164 asymptomatic cases were found in a single dormitory, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
The increase in cases was anticipated after the state prison system announced Thursday that roughly 75% of a dormitory of 240 men had tested positive for COVID-19 despite showing no symptoms. All of those cases were added to the prison-wide totals by Friday, bringing the prison from 88 to 250 confirmed cases of the virus.
The new cases added, the Department of Corrections reported, represented 219 tests completed for inmates in the dormitory.
As a result of the high percentage of positive tests in the dormitory, the Department of Corrections announced Thursday that each inmate in the facility would be tested for the virus and that the facility would go on a full 14 day quarantine.
During the quarantine, inmates will be allowed one hour a day for shower, email and recreation, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Rebecca Witte said in an email to The Star.
In addition to the 250 inmates, at least 86 staff members at the Lansing Correctional Facility have been infected with the virus, according to Department of Corrections data. So far, 20 of those staff members have returned to work and 51 inmates have recovered from the virus.
Two inmates at the facility have died from the virus, the prison agency announced this week.
The outbreak in Lansing has caused staffing shortfalls, causing health and safety concerns among workers at the prison.
Since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported at the Lansing prison in late March, advocates have called on Gov. Laura Kelly and the Department of Corrections to release vulnerable inmates and those close to completing their sentences, citing the inability to socially distance in a prison.
No releases have been announced, though Kelly has said she is considering options.
Staff members or inmates at the Topeka Correctional Facility, the Wichita Work Release Facility and the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex have tested positive for the virus. A Norton Correctional Facility employee who was temporarily transferred to Lansing has also tested positive, according to Department of Corrections data.
