Coyote Ridge only prison in state with growing number of COVID cases

Coyote Ridge Correctional Center is the only state prison where coronavirus cases continue to grow.

As of Monday, 43 inmates and 16 staff members have confirmed cases of COVID at the prison in Connell, which as minimum and medium security.

That is an increase of three inmates and four employees since Thursday.

Coyote Ridge has more than twice the number of coronavirus cases of any of the 14 corrections canters in Washington. The Monroe Correctional Complex has remained at 18 inmate cases.

A 10-day quarantine for the 1,860 Connell inmates was set to end over the weekend. A response from the state Department of Corrections was not immediately available.

The department previously reported moving 14 people to Airway Heights Corrections Center in Spokane for treatment. Prison officials have been testing inmates as they become symptomatic.

Before the outbreak, prison officials said they were asking inmates to maintain a 6-foot distance from each other, and are requiring correctional officers to wear masks.

This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 2:15 PM.