The federal Bureau of Prisons said Thursday that it will expand rapid testing of inmates transferred to quarantine sites but also that no transfers are scheduled to West Virginia at this time.
Among those quarantine sites are FCC Hazelton and FCI Gilmer in West Virginia. The bureau confirmed Thursday that one prisoner transferred to FCI Gilmer on April 28 tested positive for COVID-19 on May 1. The inmate was asymptomatic when transferred to Gilmer, according to the BOP, but exhibited symptoms May 1.
In an email response to questions from The Dominion Post on Thursday, BOP spokesman Scott Taylor said, “no movement is scheduled to either FCC Hazelton or FCI Gilmer at this time.”
According to a news release issued Thursday, Abbott ID NOW machines for rapid testing are in place in three quarantine sites, including Gilmer.
These machines, which can provide results in minutes, were requested earlier this week by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Congressman David B. McKinley, R-W.Va., for Hazelton and Gilmer.
The BOP confirmed that any prisoner with a positive test result would not be transferred to FCC Hazelton, according to a release sent out by Morrisey.
“We are still strongly opposed to the inmates being transferred to Hazelton. CDC guidelines for correctional facilities clearly state that transfers between facilities during a pandemic should be a last resort,” said Rick Heldreth, president of Local 420 of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents FCC Hazelton workers.
In a press release, Morrisey said that he, Preston County Commission President Samantha Stone, Preston County Prosecutor Mel Snyder, Preston County Public Health Officer Dr. Fred Conley and FCI Hazelton Warden Bryan Antonelli spoke about the testing Wednesday night by phone.
Stone said it is “another step forward in our efforts to protect West Virginia citizens. However, we must still guarantee that the Bureau’s promise to test all inmates prior to any transfer — and only transfer negative COVID-19 inmates — will be maintained.”
In his COVID-19 press conference Thursday, Gov. Jim Justice said of West Virginia’s state and federal representatives: “We have absolutely pushed as hard as we can push because we believe that it’s not the right thing to have done,” bringing inmates to the state for quarantine.
“I think it’s absolutely terrible,” Justice said.
They have been told over and over that every precaution will be taken, Justice said, “and yet you see what happened. We’ve got people that have been brought in here who have the virus.”
Justice’s general counsel, Brian Abraham, said the BOP took note of the governor’s request, and they would continue to work together.
BOP said in a news release that additional testing with the Abbott machines, “requires planning and resources. Testing of a sample takes 15 minutes per sample, allowing for four tests per hour. Two personnel are required to administer the tests. The Bureau plans to leverage its comprehensive medical contracts to acquire personnel to assist with testing where such services are available.”
The BOP said that the inmates sent to Gilmer earlier were screened and temperature checked per CDC guidelines “several times” before being sent to the state and screened again by a BOP physician when their plane landed and again on arrival at Gilmer. All the inmates were placed in quarantine upon arrival.
The bureau repeated in its email response that it cannot refuse inmates brought to it by U.S. Marshals, and inmate movement nationwide is down 95% from last year.
BOP said it will update its website at 3 p.m. each day to reflect the open COVID-19 confirmed positive test numbers and COVID-19 deaths.
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