CMC suffers worst COVID surge among state prisons, but a new employee test is on the way

California prisons are offering COVID-19 saliva tests as an alternative to nasal swabs starting this week, according to corrections department emails.

The new option comes as the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation copes with rising numbers across many of its facilities, the worst of which are occurring at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo.

CDCR is allowing the less-invasive saliva tests for the first time since it started requiring periodic testing for all employees in July.

Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Gransee said in an email that the tests are available now from MiraDX, the department’s contractor for the tests, and will be rolled out to institutions across the state in the coming weeks.

Gransee said in an email that studies in the New England Journal of Medicine “have shown saliva specimens may be an alternative diagnostic sample for testing.”

The department requires periodic testing of employees depending on whether there are active infections at their prisons, whether they house medically vulnerable inmates and other factors.

The coronavirus is surging across state prisons, with 15 of 35 institutions reporting more than 200 new infections in the last two weeks. About 3,000 employees and 7,700 inmates have active infections, according to corrections data. California prisons hold about 90,000 inmates and more than 55,000 people work for the corrections department.

Worst current outbreak is at California Men’s Colony

Of prisons experiencing a surge, none is more severe than what’s happening at CMC.

The prison has reported 535 new cases in the last 14 days and has 543 active cases, both highest in the state, according to CDCR.

Outbreaks at CMC have been greater than indicated by county data, according to state data.

CDCR had recorded 1,215 total coronavirus cases among CMC inmates as of Tuesday. Overall, that places the prison at No. 15 statewide.

According to the agency, 653 inmates have recovered. Two have died. Approximately 1,300 tests have been administered to roughly 42% of the inmate population as of Tuesday.

Despite the surge, however, CMC is not among the first facilities offering the new saliva tests.

Employee testing is now mandatory

The introduction of saliva tests comes two weeks after Corrections Secretary Kathleen Allison told employees they would be blocked from entering prisons and sent home without pay if they refuse a COVID-19 test.

In a Dec. 21 memo, Allison said all corrections employees are subject to mandatory testing under a federal court order.

A Dec. 30 email from Labor Relations Office Chief Candace Murch to state union representatives said saliva testing would start Monday at eight prisons: California State Prison, Los Angeles County; California City Correctional Facility; Kern Valley State Prison; Salinas Valley State Prison; North Kern State Prison; Mule Creek State Prison in Amador County; California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran; and Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga.

Both the saliva tests and the nasal swabs analyze the same type of genetic material. A group of Yale doctors and health researchers sent a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine in August saying their study of saliva tests had shown it to be at least as accurate as the swabs, which require inserting a long Q-tip deep into the nasal cavity.

Saliva tests have several advantages over the nasal variety, the authors said in the letter. People can collect and submit their own samples, removing unnecessary contacts between potentially infected people and health care workers. Saliva tests also could speed up testing and cut down on some of the need for personal protective equipment and swabs, the authors wrote.

This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 3:32 PM with the headline "CMC suffers worst COVID surge among state prisons, but a new employee test is on the way."