Inmate at state correctional facility tests positive for COVID-19

A man incarcerated at a Washington state correctional facility has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a release from the Washington State Department of Corrections.

Officials said it is the first confirmed case for an inmate at a state correctional facility.

The man was housed at the Monroe Correctional Complex-Minimum Security Unit.

On Sunday, the man was taken to a local hospital based on the symptoms he was having, officials said. Following his positive test for COVID-19, the man was taken back to the correctional facility and placed in isolation, where he will receive treatment for the virus.

Officials said the unit where the man was previously housed was placed on quarantine, with no movements in or out of the unit.

There are approximately 119 people in the unit where the man was housed and a total of 420 people in the Minimum Security Unit, officials said.

According to the release, all Minimum Security Unit staff were ordered to wear N95 respirators.

A contact mapping process was started and all those in the unit where the man was housed will be checked for symptoms related to the virus.

On March 27, another inmate from the Monroe Correctional Complex tested positive for the virus while at a community medical center, where he has remained.

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