First inmate in Iowa tests positive for COVID-19 at the Iowa Medical Classification Center in Coralville
An inmate as tested positive for COVID-19 at the Iowa Medical Classification Center, the same facility where a guard tested positive, though it’s unclear whether the two cases are related.
The Iowa Medical and Classification Center is seen on Sept. 21, 2017.
April 19, 2020
The first inmate in an Iowa penitentiary has tested positive for COVID-19.
The Iowa Department of Corrections announced Saturday that an inmate at the Iowa Medical Classification Center tested positive for COVID-19.
Previously, a guard at the IMCC tested positive for the virus and is currently recovering and receiving paid administrative leave, according to Iowa Department of Corrections Public Information Officer Cord Overton.
In an email to The Daily Iowan, Overton stated that there is no reason to believe that the cases are related, as the officer has been recovering for a week now.
The inmate was a new admission to IMCC, arriving on Thursday, April 16 from Henry County, according to a release from the Iowa Department of Corrections. The inmate was kept in an “intake quarantine cohort” where new admissions to IMCC are kept for a 14-day observation.
The inmate started developing symptoms during this time and a test was conducted to prove the inmate to be positive for the novel coronavirus.
Currently, the inmate is being kept in medical isolation and “thorough contact tracing” is being conducted by the IMCC to identify inmates or staff who may have come in contact with him.
In an email to the DI, Overton said that testing has been completed on the few inmates who could have been exposed within the quarantine unit that the COVID-19 positive inmate was housed in and those tests have returned negative.
“Those exposed will remain under observation and tested again out of precaution,” Overton said.
The inmate, described as an adult between the ages of 18 and 40, was sentenced to prison for drug crimes and is described as in stable condition. The family has been notified and he will be monitored by IMCC medical staff around the clock.
“I am confident that our team is going to continue to do everything possible to mitigate the impacts of this crisis on our fellow staff and those under our supervision,” Overton said.