MDOC: 262 Confirmed Positive COVID-19 Cases Statewide; 130 at Jackson Facilities, 43 Confirmed Positive Jackson Staff

(April 7, 2020 4:14 PM) The Michigan Department of Corrections is reporting as of 1:30 PM today, there are 262 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases at nine facilities throughout the state.  Of that statewide total, 130 of the confirmed positive cases are at Jackson facilities.

In Jackson, there are 119 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases at Parnall Correctional Facility, 10 at Charles E. Egeler Reception and Guidance Center and 1 at Duane Waters Health Center.

There are 29 MDOC facilities in Michigan, 19 facilities have no positive COVID-19 cases.  A total of 436 prisoners have been tested statewide as of last night.  131 of those tested were negative and results are pending on 43 cases.

MDOC released information about the health of its staff.  There are a total of 107 COVID-19 positive cases among staff at 13 facilities.   In Jackson, there are 41 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases among employees at Parnall Correctional Facility, 1 at Cooper Street Correctional Facility and 1 at Jackson Central Warehouse.

Saturday, the department reported the first COVID-19 death in the prison system, a prisoner from Parnall Correctional Facility.  So far, that is the only death among prisoners.  A total of 2 staff have died after contracting coronavirus;  a corrections transportation officer and a word processing assistant at the Lahser Probation Office in Detroit. 

The Michigan Department of Corrections has been added as a separate jurisdiction under the “Other” category in the daily MDHHS report of positive cases in the state. All other cases are reported by county.  MDOC prisoner cases are not included in the county cumulative numbers or in the numbers reported by the Jackson County Health Department.

According to MDOC Public Information Officer Chris Gautz, the staff numbers aren’t necessarily included in the county report because  staff don’t necessarily live in the county their prison is in.