By John Agar
MLive.com
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Three inmates with COVID-19 were sent to a prison that had no coronavirus cases among the prisoner population after a private lab incorrectly reported their tests negative, the state Department of Corrections said.
The three inmates were removed from the prison and are in isolation. Others who had close contact with the three have also been quarantined.
The mix-up happened May 1, an official said.
The three inmates were initially held at the Charles Egeler Reception & Guidance Center in Jackson where all male inmates go for screening, classification and placement after being sentenced to prison terms.
They were then transferred to Central Michigan Correctional Facility in St. Louis, Michigan.
No inmates at that prison have tested positive for COVID-19.
“Upon learning of the lab’s mistake, we immediately worked to move those prisoners from Central Michigan Correctional Facility to another facility and they were placed in isolation,” prisons spokesman Chris Gautz said in an email on Friday, May 8.
He said prisoners who had close contact with the three inmates have been quarantined. None of them have shown symptoms.
Two staff members at Central Michigan Correctional previously tested positive for COVID-19.
Garcia Labs in Jackson was identified by the Department of Corrections as the laboratory that reported the results of the three prisoners. Messages seeking comment were not immediately returned.
Of the 59 inmates at Central Michigan Correctional Facility who have been tested for COVID-19, 50 have come back negative. Results are pending for the others.
Statewide, records show that 2,090 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19. Forty-nine have died.
Of 303 Department of Corrections staff members with the coronavirus, two have died.
The Michigan Corrections Organization union on Friday issued a statement to staff that said, in part, “To say these are difficult times would be an understatement. MCO leaders and staff understand all that’s being asked of corrections officers in this critical moment. You’re putting your personal health on the line, distancing yourselves from family, and working a massive amount of overtime. Leaders and staff can’t thank you enough for meeting the challenges of this time with professionalism.”
Inmates have filed lawsuits against the state and prison officials over concerns that the virus is spreading quickly through the prison system and puts them at risk of death.
———
©2020 MLive.com, Walker, Mich.