MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Worried relatives are demanding that Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly release some inmates to allow for better social distancing to control the spread of the coronavirus in prisons, the corrections department said Wednesday, as an outbreak at one facility grew to 150 cases.
Seventy-five members of staff at the Lansing Correction Facility have tested positive, amounting to 18% of the prison’s workforce, according to data posted on the Kansas Department of Corrections’ website. Fifteen of them have recovered and returned to work. In addition, 75 inmates are sick, and one of them — an unidentified man serving a sentence for first-degree murder — died over the weekend. The sickened include two inmates who were moved to Lansing from a work-release facility in Wichita after they tested positive.
Two inmates and one staffer at the women’s prison in Topeka also tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Kelly has said repeatedly that efforts are underway to identify inmates who are close to finishing their sentences and could be released early. She said Monday that an announcement would come this week.
Corrections spokeswoman Rebecca Witte said the department has received hundreds of calls from family members and friends inquiring about Kelly’s plan and “pleading the case for their loved one” to be released. Kelly has indicated that the number of inmates subject to early release won’t be large and that it isn’t possible to assess each inmate for eligibility on a case-by-case basis, Witte said.
“We realize that everyone in our system is someone’s sibling, someone’s child someones parent,” Witte said. “And all of those people want their loved ones home with them.”
Prisons nationally have been hit hard by the virus. The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas has filed a lawsuit seeking the release of vulnerable inmates, contending it would not only prevent harm to vulnerable inmates, but would also reduce prison populations to ensure proper social distancing and reduce transmission of the virus to the remaining inmates.
The department isn’t able to test all inmates, Witte said. Inmates at two of the state’s prisons are making masks for other inmates to wear.
Kelly announced Wednesday that she would release her plan for reopening the state’s economy on Thursday evening. The state of emergency will run out on Friday and her stay-at-home order, which was imposed to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the general population, runs out at midnight on Sunday.
Kansas reported one additional COVID-19-related death Wednesday to bring the state’s total to 125. The state had 3,738 people who have tested positive, up 247 from Tuesday. The actual number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested and studies suggest that people can be infected without feeling sick.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, or death.