Connell prison employee and others test positive for COVID-19

An employee at the Coyote Ridge Correctional Center in Connell has tested positive for COVID-19.

It’s the first at the state prison 36 miles north of Pasco but other prison workers in Western Washington have confirmed cases.

And on Monday, prison officials confirmed at least one inmate at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe has the illness caused by the new coronavirus.

Monroe, which can house about 2,500 inmates, also has three staff members with confirmed cases, said Washington State Department of Corrections officials.

Prison officials are following recommendations by the health department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the employee in Connell to self-quarantine at home for 14 days, said Janelle Guthrie, communications director for state corrections.

She told the Herald they are working to identify and notify employees who have had close contact with the ill Connell worker, and they also will be asked to self-quarantine.

The medium security prison houses about 2,000 inmates.

Guthrie did not say what area the employee works in or how many others may have come in contact with the individual.

Inmates who may have had contact with the employee also will be put in quarantine, she said.

The inmate at the Monroe prison in has been placed in isolation at the facility where he is being treated, said prison officials.

The 119 individuals who are in the housing unit where the individual was previously located also are being quarantined. No one is being allowed access to the unit and staff members are required to wear N-95 protective masks.

Two employees at Washington Corrections Center in Shelton also have tested positive, according to the state.

The department has begun to issue expired N-95 respirators to staff who work closely with those incarcerated in state correctional facilities, work release centers and supervised under community custody, according to a department news release.

The release said that wearing the masks is for general use and is voluntary in an attempt to reduce the chance of transferring the virus that causes COVID-19.

Corrections officials said they also are continuing to take steps to increase the number of employees who are teleworking.

This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 12:55 PM.