SLO County rushes to prevent outbreak at CMC after coronavirus cases more than double
After the number of positive coronavirus cases at California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo more than doubled over a single day Wednesday, the county sent a “response team” to the prison to prevent against a larger outbreak.
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department on Wednesday announced that among the county’s eight new cases of COVID-19, five of those included inmates at the all-male state prison.
To date, the facility has reported eight inmates and one employee who have tested positive.
CMC spokesman Lt. John Hill declined to comment on the new cases and referred questions to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
As of late Wednesday, CDCR’s latest figures did not include the additional five CMC cases. A request for additional comment to CMC spokespeople was not immediately returned.
County Public Health said in a news release Wednesday that its staff is working closely with CMC and the state “to quickly and effectively assess and mitigate transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at the facility.”
“We immediately sent a response team to CMC and are actively supporting their work to prevent a larger outbreak,” Dr. Penny Borenstein, San Luis Obispo County’s Public Health officer, wrote in the release. “We are committed to protecting the health of CMC inmates and staff.”
The agency said in the release that as soon as laboratory testing confirmed the five additional cases at the prison, the agency sent the response team, which investigated the cases, performed contact tracing, and conducted additional testing.
The county is continuing to monitor the situation.
The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation also released a statement saying that CMC healthcare staff are also regularly making rounds and conducting health screenings of all inmates to quickly identify anyone with new symptoms.
The facility says it is following isolation and quarantine protocols for the incarcerated population and has implemented physical-distancing measures; provided masks for inmates and staff; conducted verbal and temperature screenings whenever anyone enters the institution; and is providing alcohol-based hand sanitizer in dispenser stations in housing units, dining halls, work change areas, and other areas where sinks and soap are not immediately available.
As of late Wednesday, CDCR, said 113 CMC inmates have been tested for the new coronavirus, but the agency does not report how many of its employees statewide have been tested.
The first positive case of an inmate with coronavirus was confirmed at the prison on April 11.
Across California, a total of 1,190 state inmates have been tested for the virus. As of Wednesday, the agency says 214 have tested positive, but those numbers do not reflect the most recent five CMC inmates.
That figure also does not include inmates being held at federal prisons in California.
The California Men’s Colony, on the outskirts of San Luis Obispo, is an all-male minimum- to medium-security state prison, with roughly 3,800 inmates and 1,800 employees.
