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April 20: There’s a COVID-19 outbreak at the prison in Mason

By Echo Day on April 20, 2020

Twenty-four people associated with the West Tennessee Detention Facility, the CoreCivic-owned prison in Mason, have tested positive for COVID-19.

More than two dozen confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported at the West Tennessee Detention Facility, county executive Jeff Huffman said Monday morning.

The U.S. Marshals Service, which houses its inmates in Mason, confirmed Monday afternoon there were 28 inmates who’d tested positive.

Those cases brought Tipton’s total confirmed cases to 83 Monday.

The 600-bed prison facility is privately owned and operated by CoreCivic.

On its website, CoreCivic stated a lengthy COVID-19 prevention plan which included screening employees, social distancing, cleaning and disinfecting, wearing masks and disposable gloves and encouraging personal hygiene practices.

A CoreCivic employee at the Clifton, Tenn. prison tested positive last month. The company said, at the time, that was the only confirmed case out of the facilities it owns in Tennessee.

Elsewhere in the country, 18 ICE detainees, nine U.S. Marshals Service inmates and 18 employees tested positive for the coronavirus at the Otay Mesa facility in San Diego, Calif. Last Friday inmates and detainees launched a hunger strike and protests.

The Tennessee Department of Corrections has expanded testing at its facilities after more than 160 inmates at the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex tested positive. The facility houses approximately 3,100 inmates.

Huffman said no inmate at the Tipton County Jail has tested positive.


What are the numbers today?

Confirmed cases: 83; over the weekend, cases went to 57 Saturday, then to 56 on Sunday

Average increase in confirmed cases per day: 2.5

Testing

Tipton Countians tested: 837; this does not include those conducted at the surge testing event on Saturday

Number negative: 754

Need to get tested? Tipton has six testing sites.

Recovery and hospitalization

Number of Tipton Countians recovered: 34

Number hospitalized at Baptist-Tipton: 0

With 83 confirmed cases and 34 reported recoveries, this means there are at least 49 active cases of COVID-19 in Tipton County.

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Posted Under: News Tags: coronavirus, mason prison, outbreak, west tennessee detention facility

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The Leader is a weekly newspaper, published on Thursdays, serving Tipton County, Tenn. since 1886.

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