Nevada prisons boast low COVID-19 infection rate

A day after the Nevada Department of Corrections sent a statement highlighting the low number of state prisoners with the coronavirus, state data showed the largest one-day increase in cases, although the caseload remains low.

The number of prisoners who have tested positive went from nine on Wednesday to 15 on Thursday, according to data from the state Department of Health and Human Services. The number of cases hasn’t jumped that much since three additional prisoners at High Desert State Prison were reported to have tested positive on May 28.

The Department of Corrections also announced Wednesday that it had recently distributed 22,000 face masks to Nevada’s prisoners to prevent those who may be asymptomatic from spreading the virus.

Department spokesman Scott Kelley said in May that prisoners without symptoms were not allowed to wear masks due to security concerns. It was unclear when exactly that rule was changed, or when the department began distributing the masks.

The six additional cases reported Thursday were all from prisoners at High Desert State Prison, which now has a total of 11 prisoner cases — by far the most of any Department of Corrections facility. The other cases as of Thursday were from a prisoner at Lovelock Correctional Center, a prisoner at Northern Nevada Correctional Center and two prisoners at the Tonopah Conservation Camp.

High Desert was the facility that housed the first prisoner reported to have tested positive for the virus on May 20. Seven staff members at the prison also have tested positive.

The same day the first positive case of a prisoner was reported, the Department of Corrections announced a plan to partner with the state health department to provide widespread testing at facilities.

In a statement Wednesday, the Department of Corrections announced that 10,329 prisoners had been tested for the virus, which is 83 percent of the state’s 12,368 prisoners. The department also highlighted the low percentage of prisoners who have tested positive for the virus.

As of Thursday, about 0.12 percent of Nevada’s prisoners have tested positive for the virus. The infection rate, which experts say is a better indicator in the pandemic because it compares the number of people who have received a test with the number of people who have tested positive, was 0.09 percent on Wednesday.

The infection rate on Thursday was unclear, as the Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to a request for an updated number of prisoners who have been tested.

When compared to data updated on Thursday from The Marshall Project and The Associated Press, Wednesday’s infection rate of 0.09 percent was the fourth lowest of the 40 states that have reported updated numbers of prisoners who have been tested.

“Our custody staff implemented pro-active procedures to ensure the safety of everyone at our facilities, while our medical staff worked tirelessly to test offenders and provide appropriate medical care,” Department of Corrections’ Director Charles Daniel said in Wednesday’s statement. “This has been a team effort and I could not be prouder.”

Kelley said in an email Thursday that it takes two to four days for the department to receive testing results for prisoners. The Nevada State Public Health Laboratory is testing 500 samples daily from Department of Corrections’ employees and prisoners.

He said that all prisoners at the Northern Nevada, Southern Desert, Warm Springs, Lovelock and Northern Nevada correctional centers have been tested, as well as everyone at High Desert State Prison, Casa Grande Transitional Housing, Northern Nevada Transitional Center and six conservation camps.

Testing is ongoing at the Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center and Ely State Prison, as well as the Jean, Wells, Ely and Pioche conservation camps.

The department said Wednesday that 2,362 members of its staff had been tested for the virus, representing 89 percent of employees. State data on Thursday showed that 37 total employees have tested positive.

As of Thursday, the facility with the most staff that had tested positive was Lovelock Correctional Center, which had 13 employees with positive results, according to state data.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.