NEW:
BUNKER HILL, Ind. (AP) — A northern Indiana prison has been placed on lockdown after weekend testing found nearly 60 inmates and several prison workers were positive for COVID-19. The Miami Correctional Facility's spokesman, James Frye, said Wednesday that a team from the Indiana State Department of Health did rapid testing at the prison over the weekend. Before that testing, two inmates and five staffers had tested positive for COVID-19. But the Kokomo Tribune reports that by Wednesday, testing found 60 offenders and 10 staff members were positive for COVID-19. National Guard units began helping operate the prison in August, after several prison workers were stricken with COVID-19.
ORIGINAL POST:
BUNKER HILL, Ind. (AP) — National Guard units are helping operate a northern Indiana prison that’s faced with staffing shortages after several prison workers were stricken with COVID-19. Soldiers from the Indiana Army National Guard began working at the Miami Correctional Facility in August, performing jobs that don't bring them into contact with inmates. The Kokomo Tribune reports that the prison, located in Bunker Hill about 60 miles southwest of Fort Wayne, has had five staff members test positive for COVID-19, with three having recovered. Indiana’s Army and Air national guards have been deployed to state prisons since May due to the coronavirus outbreak.
