An outbreak of COVID-19 has hit the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport, with 21 incarcerated individuals and one staff member testing positive, the Vermont Department of Corrections reported Friday.
The infections were detected in testing conducted Tuesday. The facility was placed under full lockdown on Thursday after the results were received.
Contact tracing is underway, and the DOC and Vermont Health Department's Rapid Response Team are coordinating follow-up actions and additional testing, police said.
Statewide, the corrections department now reports a total of six staff and 30 inmates positive for the virus. Full lockdowns are also in effect at the Northwest State Correctional Facility and the Northeast Correctional Complex due to active cases at those facilities. All other state facilities are under modified lockdown.
Separately, a staff member at Middlebury Probation and Parole also tested positive on Tuesday.
NEK will be looking into vaccination rates among Vermont prison staff and inmates at the time of this outbreak.
Originally reported by Newport Dispatch.
Photo: Jonny Gios via Unsplash. Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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