California Men’s Colony coronavirus outbreak spreads to 34 more inmates
The California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo reported that an additional 34 inmates have tested positive for coronavirus as of Wednesday morning.
Since July 30, 77 inmates and seven employees at the state prison have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
In May, the CMC experienced a smaller coronavirus outbreak that infected 11 inmates and three employees — all who have since recovered, according to the CDCR.
In response to the most recent spike in coronavirus cases at the prison, the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department has partnered with the CDCR to conduct widespread testing and contact tracing investigations.
According to the CDCR, 422 of the 3,468 incarcerated people at the prison have been tested for coronavirus in the last 14 days.
The CDCR also requires that employees are tested in 14-day cycles, resulting in about 1,400 CMC employees tested every two weeks, according to Lt. John Hill, CDCR public information officer.
Ongoing testing for prison employees is conducted through a vendor secured by CDCR to help alleviate local public health labs across the state, according to a CDCR news release.
The CDCR did not provide information as to how the virus entered the prison.
When asked about the increased spread of COVID-19 at CMC, Hill told The Tribune on Tuesday that the CDCR cannot provide a reason as to why this outbreak was significantly larger than the previous incident.
“At this point, any answer I provide to your first question regarding a reason for the increase in cases would be speculative, and I don’t want to go down that road,” Hill wrote in an email to The Tribune. “I can say with confidence, as soon as CMC reported a positive case among the incarcerated population, the institution immediately began working with San Luis Obispo County public health officials.”
To mitigate the spread of COVID-19, CMC has “restricted all inmate movement and implemented a modified program in the entire institution to facilitate expanded testing of the incarcerated population,” a CDCR statement sent Tuesday read.
The CDCR added that CMC cleans and sanitizes common spaces regularly and follows isolation and quarantine protocols.
The prison has issued face coverings to all inmates and employees and requires that they wear them.
Any person entering the prison is screened for coronavirus symptoms, the CDCR said.
SLO County data doesn’t reflect CA coronavirus case count
San Luis Obispo County’s coronavirus-tracking website does not reflect the current number of inmates with COVID-19, despite the county knowing of the outbreak.
“We’re also aware of discrepancies between the state’s data and the data we’re providing the public on our website and we’re working with the state to identify the cause and determine how to correct it,” County Public Health Department spokesperson Michelle Shoresman wrote Tuesday in an email to The Tribune.
According to ReadySLO.org, the county was told by the state Tuesday that there is an issue with the electronic system for lab records, resulting in a statewide delay in case reporting.
