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ELKINS -- All the COVID-19 test results for Huttonsville Correctional Center have been returned, with 118 inmates testing positive for coronavirus, Gov. Jim Justice said Monday during a press briefing.
"We've ran to the fire again," Justice said. "We hope and pray that every one of these inmates and/or staff that have tested positive in Huttonsville end up getting well and all is well in the neighborhood."
Justice said no new cases of coronavirus was found in the staff, leaving the number of positives at eight. Justice said 149 inmates have been tested at other correctional facilities in the state and none have returned positive. Justice has said he wants testing done at all the correctional facilities in the state.
According to information from the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, there were 1,089 inmate tests performed at Huttonsville and 971 returned negative. There are currently 963 inmates in quarantine at the facility. No other inmates in the state's prisons, jail, community corrections or juvenile facilities have seen a positive case of COVID-19.
There have been two prisoners tested at Tygart Valley Regional Jail with no positive results, but there are 78 inmates in quarantine at the facility.
Those in quarantine include those who have tested positive and inmates not showing symptoms, but are separated because they are new intakes or have came back from a hospital for unrelated reasons.
Elkins-Randolph County Health Department Infectious Disease Nurse Bonnie Woodrum said some of the inmates at HCC have shown symptoms, but most were asymptomatic.
"Twenty-five to 28 inmates, I don't have an exact count right here, are scheduled to be released from quarantine today and all the inmates that have been on quarantine because they tested positive," Woodrum said Monday during a COVID-19 update conference call for county leaders. "There have been two or three with vague symptoms and that's all.
"Almost everybody has been asymptomatic and we couldn't even really attribute the day-long headache or a little bit of listlessness to this disease, so they were on quarantine anyway. The release will start with the first batch today and then as their dates come up, they'll be reorganizing at the prison. I think, for one, that they've done a great job up there."
West Virginia Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeff Sandy explained last week what happens when an inmate is first brought into a correctional facility in the state. Sandy said when an inmate is first brought into any of the correctional facilities they are processed and fill out a medical questionnaire, then they are placed in full body scanner to check for foreign objects. Every inmate that comes in is placed in an individual location and observed for 14 days by medical staff. If they are found to have a fever they are transported to a hospital. After the isolation period, they are moved into the general population. Inmates in general population have their temperature checks daily and every inmates is given masks to wear.
The outbreak at Huttonsville led to two free coronavirus testing sites in Randolph County on Saturday to determine if the virus is spreading through the community.
Justice said the state is still waiting for all the results, but later in the briefing Dr. Cathy Slemp, state health officer with the WVDHHR, said there were 808 residents tested at the sites in Elkins and Beverly. She said around 70 percent of the tests were returned on Monday and no positive cases were identified.
According to the WVDHHR, there are 131 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Randolph County, of which 127 are active cases and four are recovered cases.