WRDCC Covid Cases (7-19-20)

WRDCC Covid Cases (7-19-20)

Prisons across the country have been a hotspot for covid-19 and missouri is no exception.

Good evening and thanks for joining us, i'm ron johnson.

Since march, the missouri department of corrections reports 397 inmates have tested positive20 of those being right here in st.

Joseph thomas joins us with the story on how offenders say the state isn't doing enough to protect them.

20 inmates at the western reception diagnostic correctional center have tested positive for covid-19 while that's only 1% of the facility's population to test positive, inmates say there's more going on behind closed doors.

Pkg"this call is from a correctional facility and may be monitored and recorded."

"you know, most of us here in this facility here are nonviolent offenders.

Well, we've been sentenced to a death penalty for not being treated properly.

We've been sentenced to death."

Ernest hines is serving time for violating his parole for marijuanna use... offenders say although they've made mistakes...they still deserve basic health care.

"and they won't retest me.

Medical won't do nothing about it.

I keep telling them, they just write it down and say, 'whatever.'" inmates say the state-run facility is not separating the offenders testing positive for the virus from those testing negative... "i don't think they're protecting us none.

Like, at all.

They put 31 people and they quarantined us with the positive people, with 10 positive people."

Offenders say 5 feet is all that separates the positive cells from the negative best case scenario.

"they had us across the hall from each other, but we all ate together, showered together, used the bathroom, washed our hands."the lack of physical distancing from the infected is leaving inmates and their families afraid.

"they are angry, they are afraid because they don't know the outcome."

"well, obviously i don't want my husband or any of the other inmates coming down ill and one of the first covid cases came from there and the man died."

The first state inmate to test positive and die from covid-19 came from the wrdcc.

Offenders serving time there now in a written statement department of corrections said positive do not remain in a housing wing with offenders who test negative once the test results have been received.

It is not physically possible for the labs to process all 1,550+ offender tests, as well as all staff tests, simultaneously.

For that reason, we did not receive all of the test results simultaneously.

Therefore it's possible that someone who is positive and someone who is negative are sharing the same spaces before the test results have been reported.

After the test results have been reported, anyone who tests positive is relocated to an isolation unit."offenders we spoke with on said on july 1st they were sharing the same wing and day room facilities as 10 inmates testing positive.

The next day..

The negative offenders were moved to a different house.

Inmates say they have not been retested since.

Tag "again, the doc stresses that "no offenders remain in quarantine with known positive test results."the doc reports testing of all offenders on intake and one week prior to leaving the prison system began june 1st testing of all offenders and staff at all state facilities, regardless of symptoms, began may 26th.

17,764 inmates have been tested in all.