A staff member at San Quentin State Prison and another at California State Prison, Sacramento, have become California’s first two prison employees to test positive for coronavirus, authorities said Friday.
So far, no inmates at either facility has been confirmed to have the virus, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesperson Dana Simas said in a statement.
“If at any point, it is determined there is a potential exposure to the incarcerated population, the (CDCR) will restrict movement at the institution while a contact investigation is underway and quarantine those deemed at-risk for an observation period,” Simas said. “The well-being of all who live, work and visit state prison are of the utmost importance to the (CDCR), and many measures are in place to prevent and slow the spread of COVID-19.”
Officials did not say whether the staff members were under quarantine or in self-isolation, or whether either had been hospitalized. A contact investigation involves reaching out to anyone who may have come into close contact with an individual who tests positive for the virus to determine how many others may have been exposed.
Simas said in an email that no other information, including what kind of work the two employees do at the prisons, would be made public.
