Yuma corrections facility marks 1st stage of new coronavirus testing plan
May 30, 2020, 4:25 AM | Updated: Jun 1, 2020, 12:48 pm
ASPC-Yuma testing. (ADCRR Photo)
(ADCRR Photo)
PHOENIX — The first stage of a new coronavirus testing plan designed for correctional facility employees took place at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Yuma this week.
The COVID-19 PCR swab testing took place Tuesday through Thursday via an onsite mobile testing process as part of Gov. Doug Ducey’s work to expand coronavirus testing across Arizona.
Over 1,200 staff members, including 890 correctional officers, were offered testing over the three-day period, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.
The ADCRR said in a press release that it is prioritizing serology testing (antibodies) for all correctional officers statewide.
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According to the ADCRR’s website, 82 staff members statewide have self-reported testing positive for COVID-19, while 61 have recovered.
Yuma is the third-most populated state prison with over 4,800 daily inmates and has tested the most inmates of any prison in Arizona.
Of the 281 Yuma inmates that have been tested for coronavirus, 61 have tested positive and zero have died.
Statewide, over 1,100 of Arizona’s more than 40,000 inmates have been tested.
Of those, more than 180 have been confirmed positive and at least three have died.
“This is an exceptional bipartisan example of people coming together in service for the greater good in providing COVID-19 testing to our brave frontline men and women who continue to define public service throughout the pandemic,” ADCRR Director David Shinn said in the release.
