CRANSTON, R.I. (AP) — Nearly 200 inmates and staff at Rhode Island’s state prison have tested positive for the coronavirus in the past week, most of them in maximum security, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Of the 169 total cases, 147 inmates and staff at the Adult Correctional Institutions’ maximum-security unit at the state prison are newly infected. Several lower security units reported only one or two positive cases.
Movement has been modified in those units to mitigate the spread of the virus, prisons spokesman J.R. Ventura told The Providence Journal on Thursday.
“This protocol has proven effective managing the spread in previous instances of COVID-19,” Ventura wrote in a post on the department’s Facebook page. “The safety of everyone inside our facilities is our top priority. We are working around the clock to make sure we keep everyone safe.”
The department did not divide the cases by inmates and staff.
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