TOPEKA, Kansas – Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) Secretary Jeff Zmuda announced Friday that one resident at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility (HCF) and five residents at the El Dorado Correctional Facility (EDCF) have tested positive for COVID-19.
Earlier in the month, one staff member at both HCF and EDCF were identified as positive for COVID-19. Contact tracing occurred and mass testing took place of the living units that had been exposed to the identified staff members. At HCF, 158 residents were tested. At EDCF, 400 residents were tested, according to a media release from the KDOC.
The resident at HCF is a male over the age of 20. The EDCF residents are all males over the ages of 30, 40, 50, 50 and 70. All men are asymptomatic. In order to protect their identities, no other information will be released. Mandatory mask protocol for staff and residents was implemented on July 3.
The KDOC has been in consultation with officials from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) on next steps to address these circumstances. As a result of that consultation with KDHE, the following steps were implemented:
- All six men and an additional four EDCF men, who were roommates of those who tested positive, were moved to Lansing Correctional Facility (LCF) to be in a more modern facility that is better equipped to control the spread of the virus
- Additional testing will take place at both HCF and EDCF as we continue to work to control the spread
- KDOC will remain diligent in monitoring other staff and residents for symptoms
“We are thankful that the contact tracing and mass testing appears to be doing what it is intended to do,” Zmuda said. “With this method, we have been able to identify the positive cases and isolate them before the virus spreads throughout the entire facility.”
These 10 men plus one from Norton Correctional Facility (NCF) are in an isolation unit by themselves at LCF.