LANSING, Kan. — Friday was an emotional day for Susan Johnson and her husband Charlie. Their son was just released from Lansing Correctional Facility.
"This morning when I got up I thought, I should be happy," Johnson said.
The excitement was mixed with anxiety and uncertainty.
"He was never tested for the virus. They just watched him to see if he became symptomatic," Johnson said.
Johnson's son, who doesn't want to share his name, called his parents shortly before he was released and said a guy in his cell had coronavirus.
He and everyone else in the cell were put into quarantine for about two weeks.
Johnson does not know if her son is sick.
Charlie Johnson went to pick their son up from Lansing, but could not go into the building. He called the prison to ask if they would test their son for COVID-19 before release. He was told no.
"It's just very risky, I think," Susan Johnson said. "That's the first people they should be testing, is anybody getting released."
Now, the Johnson's are trying to find a test. They will have to distance themselves from Susan in the meantime.
Apparently, their son was not one of the first inmates at Lansing to benefit from extra tests.
"They're getting enough supplies now to start increasing testing; grateful we're one of the priorities for some of those testing," Kansas Department of Corrections spokesperson Randy Bowman said.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment sent 1,700 additional tests to Lansing this week. They've administered 220 of those tests so far, and saw a shocking outcome, as 75 percent came back positive - and they are inmates that didn't show any symptoms.
"They were people that through our screening we couldn't identify as ill, nor could they say they were ill, but the test shows they do have it," Bowman said.
Lansing is now under medical quarantine, with everyone will in their cell, for two weeks, until all the tests can be administered.
wo inmates have died due to COVID-19 complications.
Bowman said he thought the DOC would be testing Lansing staffers too, but couldn't confirm it Friday.
This comes as no consolation to the Johnson's, who are now scrambling to adjust.
Susan Johnson said she got in touch with her state representative, Brandon Woodard, about her concerns. She hopes her voice, along with the many other voices speaking out about problems in the prison system, will lead to change.
"You just have to keep talking about it until someone will listen," Johnson said.
The KDOC says family members can go to their website for updated COVID-19 information.
