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Thousands Of Additional COVID-19 Positive Arizona Inmates Reported In New Round Of Prison Testing
Jimmy Jenkins/KJZZ
Arizona State Prison Complex – Lewis in Buckeye.
A new round of testing is uncovering thousands more cases of COVID-19 in Arizona state prisons.
So far the Arizona Department of Corrections has reported 1,000 new COVID-19 cases, with hundreds of inmates testing positive at the Lewis, Eyman and Safford state prisons.
More than 10,000 total inmates have tested positive and 48 have died from the virus.
Nearly one in three department employees have tested positive, including Director David Shinn.
There are 6,600 inmates in state prisons with underlying conditions that put them at high risk to be prioritized for immunizations, but it’s unclear when they will be vaccinated. The department says the schedule depends on the state’s vaccine supply.
