Corrigan temporarily went into lockdown last week due to uptick in COVID-19 cases
Corrigan Correctional Center in Montville temporarily went into lockdown last week due to an increase in inmates within a housing unit who tested positive for COVID-19, according to the state Department of Correction.
Department of Correction Public Information Officer Andrius Banevicius said the lockdown lasted about a day and was an effort to contain movement and prevent the spread of COVID-19 once tests started showing positive results.
As of Monday, there were 25 symptomatic inmates from Corrigan being housed at the department's medical isolation unit at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, which represents an increase of about 20 inmates, though the numbers are in flux, said Banevicius.
Corrigan and York Correctional Institution in Niantic are both experiencing a "slight uptick" in COVID-19 cases, as cases in the general community rise and new offenders continue to enter the facilities. Banevicius said overall the department is seeing a slight uptick, though certain facilities have not had an increase.
In addition to the symptomatic individuals who had been transferred from Corrigan to the MacDougall-Walker medical isolation unit, 11 asymptomatic Corrigan inmates were being quarantined at Corrigan as of Monday, he said.
At York, as of Monday, there were four asymptomatic and 13 symptomatic inmates who were being isolated in units at York, he said.
Overall, across its facilities, the state Department of Correction reported 131 symptomatic inmates with COVID-19 and about 161 asymptomatic inmates with COVID-19, according to the DOC's website. A total of 131 staff members are recovering from COVID-19.
Banevicius said the positivity rate for inmates across the entire correctional system is at 1.8%, as of last week, which is lower than the positivity rate in the general population in Connecticut, he said.
The Department of Correction suspended in-person visits to all facilities on Nov. 30 to minimize the spread of COVID-19, he said. The department's policy is to suspend in-person visits when the general population's positivity rate for COVID-19 rises above 5%.
Most facilities still have video visits available, he said.
Banevicius said the department implemented protocols during the pandemic, including cleaning of the facilities and offering biweekly testing of inmates, though he explained that the department cannot mandate testing unless the inmates are symptomatic.
New inmates coming into the facilities are tested and are quarantined in a separate unit at each facility in an effort to minimize the spread of COVID-19, he said.
He said the department has also worked to increase vaccination rates through informational videos and unit-by-unit informational sessions.
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