LANSING, Kan. — Kansas health officials confirmed on Wednesday that more staff and inmates at the Lansing Correctional Facility have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Dr. Lee Norman, secretary for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said in a press conference that 11 staff members and 10 inmates now have the virus.
Randall Bowman, executive director of public affairs for the Kansas Department of Corrections, said there is a concern that the outbreak at the Lansing facility could worsen as the nation reaches its peak for cases.
“The prison systems have been designed for decades and, kind of 100 or more years, to be really efficient at confining people in not a lot of space,” Bowman said. “So that's why an illness like this causes this a lot of concern."
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In-person visitation was suspended March 13 as a response to COVID-19, according to Bowman, and he said that weekly communications have been sent to inmates for about three to four weeks, on top of the majority of inmates getting two free phone calls per week, per inmate.
"We've done those things because we recognize how important it is to keep that communication between family members during this time,” Bowman said.
Inmates can still purchase from the commissary, but items are now requested and dropped off as opposed to inmates physically going to get the items themselves.
Bowman said corrections officers will use personal protective equipment when they come within 6 feet of someone for more than 10 minutes who is symptomatic.
"That's part of why those guidelines exist,” Bowman said. “You don't hand it out as preventative because as I understand it, there is none in some hospitals and we need to be mindful of those resources as well."
On March 25, the facility began a daily screening protocol where all staff get a temperature check and brief questionnaire regarding recent travel. The facility also is screening inmates who come and go to different areas for essential job trades.
"If they present as symptomatic, they are turned away from the facility,” Bowman said.
Bowman also said that new inmates to Lansing Correctional Facility are being quarantined in a separate building for 14 days before starting the process of coming inside the facility.
