Coronavirus outbreak at prison in Susanville

After inmates were transferred from San Quentin to the California Correctional Center in Lassen County, coronavirus cases spiked.

County.### the lassen county health officer declared a local health emergency due to a coronavirus outbreak at the prisons in susanville.

Action news now reporter christina vitale shows us how prison officials are working to keep themeselves, the inmates... and the community safe.

< a health emergency in lassen county.

The local health department making the declaration after a coronavirus outbreak at the prison in susanville.

The department reports at the beginning of june the state prsion department moved inmates from san quentin to the california correctional center in lassen county without testing or quarantining those inmates.

Days later four of those inmates tested positive.

Me: this is as close as i could get just a mile down this road, hundreds of inmates testing positive for coronavirus out of the more than 3 thousand inmates at the ccc - 213 are positive.

5 more at the high desert state prsion are also positive.

One woman who's cousin is a prison guard tells me thee prison is working hard to control the spread to the community.

Margie bark - lives in susanville, cousin is guard at the prison: they are making sure that they sanitize through every door they are making sure they sanitize through every door every aspect they go through in that prison anything that they touch they sanitize their hands they have to go through a protocol for the covid-19 so they're doing their jobs and to make sure everyone as much as possible both prisons now staggering dining times, phone calls, and showers to allow for cleaning.

The prisons are also giving masks to inmates and staff to wear on prison grounds.

A prison official told action news now they're keeping two inmates to a cell-- and creating space for social distancing in the dorms. reporting in lassen county christina vitale action news now coverage you can count on >> one guard at the 'c-c-c' and five employees at the high desert state prison have tested positive.