69 Nevada inmates in Arizona prison test positive for coronavirus
Nearly 70 percent of Nevada inmates at a private Arizona prison tested positive for coronavirus, according to a statement Saturday night from the Nevada Department of Corrections.
The statement said that none of the 69 inmates from Nevada who tested positive at Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona, had shown symptoms and that the positive cases are rooming together, separate from the negative cases.
The prison is run by CoreCivic, a for-profit correctional facility 363 miles southeast of Las Vegas.
“The Nevada offenders do not have any contact with offenders from other states. They will remain under medical observation twice-daily,” the statement said.
Meanwhile 45 Hawaiian inmates in the same unit are in quarantine and being monitored for symptoms, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Hawaii prisoners occupied more than 1,100 of the facility’s 1,926 beds as of Friday, officials said. Nevada inmates occupied an additional 99 beds.
The inmates who tested positive will be tested every 21 days until they test negative.
“There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among any Hawaii inmates housed at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona. Saguaro’s parent company, CoreCivic, confirms that 69 offenders from Nevada, housed in a separate part of the facility, tested positive for COVID-19,” Public Safety spokeswoman Toni Schwartz said.
She added: “As a precautionary measure, the 28 Hawaii inmates were relocated to vacant housing and will be monitored for symptoms for 14 days, to include daily temperature checks.”
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. But for some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this report.