COVID-19 Outbreak at Kansas Correctional Facility

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79 staff and 88 inmates have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at a Lansing, Kansas correctional facility, according to data published by the Kansas Department of Corrections. The Department advised that 48 inmates have recovered, and two have died. The Lansing facility is the largest prison in Kansas, with a capacity for 2,432 inmates. On April 27th, the Kansas Department of Corrections announced one of the deaths in a press release, describing the inmate as “a male over the age of 50 with underlying medical conditions who tested positive for the virus on April 19.” The 88 confirmed cases published to the Department’s website as of Thursday, April 30th reflected only symptomatic inmates, but new data reflects a much higher case count. According to kansascity.com, approximately three-quarters of a sample of 240 Lansing Correctional Facility inmates tested positive for COVID-19. The facility reportedly plans to test all inmates and implement a two-week quarantine. In Kansas and around the country, state and federal prison authorities have faced calls to release medically fragile inmates, nonviolent offenders, and those close to completing their sentences. Some states, such as California and New York, have begun to do so.

Sources: https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article242408021.html
https://www.doc.ks.gov/kdoc-coronavirus-updates/kdoc-covid-19-status 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Katie Pincura, DrPh, MPH, MA

Katie Pincura, DrPH, MA, MPH is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Assistant Professor of Health Sciences at Western Carolina University, College of Health and Human Sciences, School of Health Sciences. Dr. Pincura is a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Her research focuses on the intersection of healthcare policy and public health.

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