NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A second inmate in western Tennessee has tested positive for COVID-19, state correctional officials announced.
The inmate at the Turney Center Industrial Complex-Annex in Only was placed in quarantine on April 7 after having a low-grade fever, according to a news release. On Friday, his test results for coronavirus tested positive.
Three other inmates who may have been exposed have since been placed in quarantine for 14 days. They have not yet shown any symptoms.
This is the second inmate who has tested positive for the virus at Turney Center Industrial Complex. Prison officials announced a week ago that the first inmate in the state prison system had a confirmed case of COVID-19 at the Only complex.
Meanwhile, Tennessee’s prison system conducted mass coronavirus testing of staffers Friday at two facilities where workers, but not inmates, have tested positive: Bledsoe County Correctional Facility and Northwest Correctional Complex.
As of Saturday, Tennessee had more than 5,100 confirmed cases and 101 deaths related to the coronavirus.
For the vast majority of people who have the coronavirus, symptoms clear up in several weeks without requiring hospitalization, but the consequences can be life-threatening for older people and those with existing health problems.
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