By Kurt Erickson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
JEFFERSON CITY — Weeks after the number of inmates infected with the deadly coronavirus began ebbing in Missouri’s prisons, a new outbreak is underway at the all-female lock-up in Vandalia.
The Missouri Department of Corrections on Thursday reported 80 offenders at the Women’s Eastern Correctional Center have tested positive for COVID-19, a number that has doubled in less than a week.
The renewed surge of the disease at the facility comes as 52% of the overall inmate population has been vaccinated.
And it comes as the department is preparing to begin allowing visitors after more than a year of pandemic-related restrictions.
Visiting is slated to begin June 1 only for inmates who have been fully vaccinated.
“The department does not require visitors to be vaccinated. However, we strongly encourage all visitors to be vaccinated before visiting to help protect their loved ones and other members of the incarcerated population,” the department said.
Most of the state’s 20 prisons are reporting no cases among inmates. Two facilities — Fulton and St. Joseph — have fewer than 20 cases.
Corrections spokeswoman Karen Pojmann said nearly all of the current cases are in prisons that are a first stop for offenders entering the prison system, including Vandalia.
“City and county jails don’t always have protocols in place to manage, contain or test for the virus, and therefore state prisons continue to receive offenders who are positive for COVID. New intakes are quarantined and tested,” Pojmann said.
Last week, the number of active cases among more than 20,000 offenders had dropped to 23 inmates and three staff, marking a steep decline in the disease, which has killed 48 inmates and six prison employees.
In December, 455 inmates and 129 employees were infected with the coronavirus. The current count shows 23 active cases among inmates and three among employees.
The lockup in Fulton, for example, had more than 200 cases in December. Now it has 16.
Other hard-hit facilities include prisons in Farmington and Bonne Terre, which had a total of more than 500 cases during the outbreak.
When visiting resumes, all visitors, staff and inmates will be required to wear face coverings while in the visiting area.
All visitors must pass a COVID-19 screening with a temperature check prior to entering the check-in area; anyone who does not pass the screening will not be allowed to enter.
Visiting rooms will operate at 50% capacity.
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