Health and Medicine
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Department of Corrections said Monday it will dramatically increase testing of inmates as the state struggles to control the spread of the coronavirus in prisons across the state.
As of Sunday, 139 inmates and 50 Department of Corrections staffers had tested positive for COVID-19. One inmate has died.
Separately, a legal aid group is demanding that the state take steps to protect youths at a juvenile detention center where 25 kids have tested positive.
The DOC has been criticized by inmates’ families and advocates who say prison officials have not acted quickly enough to stop the spread of the virus inside the close quarters of correctional facilities, where social distancing is often difficult or impossible.
The DOC said the Virginia Department of Health will send staff Monday to prisons to help with increased testing. The DOC has ordered hundreds of additional tests, while Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Virginia and the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services are also sending hundreds of additional tests to prisons.
The DOC said it is testing all inmates who have symptoms of the virus. Last week, the department also began testing inmates without symptoms at two prisons. This week, it plans to test asymptomatic inmates and staff at the Deerfield Correctional Center, which has a large population of elderly and other at-risk inmates with underlying medical issues.
Prison officials said testing asymptomatic inmates will allow them to monitor and treat positive cases sooner rather than after symptoms develop.
“This increase in testing will give the VADOC a better picture of what is happening at each of Virginia’s correctional facilities and will allow us to reduce the spread of the virus,” DOC Director Harold Clarke said in a statement.
Kim Rolla, the interim director of the Legal Aid Justice Center’s civil rights and racial justice program, said the increased testing is a positive step, but state officials need to do much more to stop the spread of the virus inside prisons. Advocates have asked Gov. Ralph Northam to use his clemency powers to release older inmates who are at a higher risk for acquiring the virus, inmates who have underlying medical conditions and those who are within a year of completing their sentences.
“These are human beings who are in these settings and are facing a dire situation,” Rollo said.
Northam has proposed a budget amendment that would give the DOC authority to release inmates with one year or less remaining on their sentences. Under his proposal, nearly 2,000 inmates could be eligible for early release. The proposal would not go into effect unless the General Assembly approves the amendment at a session scheduled for Wednesday.
The center sent a letter Monday to Valerie Boykin, director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, saying it will consider legal action if the department does not take a series of steps to protect incarcerated youths from the virus.
A department spokesman did not immediately return a call and email seeking comment on the demand letter.
Chris Moon, chief physician at the department, said 21 of the 25 infected kids exhibited no outward symptoms and only four showed signs that were more severe than a cold or a flu.
The facility currently houses 191 youths, ages 14 to 20.
“Any resident who tested positive was immediately placed in medical isolation,” Moon said. He said 13 residents have already been released.
Gov. Ralph Northam
Governor Northam said this afternoon that help is on the way when it comes to ramping up the number of tests for COVID-19 that can be performed in Virginia. Northam has assembled a “work group” to help facilitate that and also says the CDC is sending personnel for the same purpose:
Northam again acknowledged that Virginians want to return to normal and open their businesses – but he reiterated that 14 straight days of a downward trend in infection rates will be the key.
Parents of newborns under intensive care at Carilion are once again able to see their children. Officials say the moratorium on such visits was needed to develop safety procedures that protect patients, visitors and the NICU staff. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story:
NEWS RELEASE: Effective Monday, April 20 at 11 a.m., Carilion’s NICU will reopen to limited visitation.
“A baby’s connection to loved ones is vitally important,” said Dr. Kimberly Dunsmore, chair of Carilion Children’s. “Our NICU providers have been working round the clock to reestablish visitation in a way that is safe for our patients and care teams.”
Patients will have two designated visitors (parents or legal guardians). In an effort to minimize the number of visitors on the unit at once, only one visitor per patient will be permitted per visit. Additionally, families will be assigned even or odd calendar days to visit during limited visitation hours (11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. to midnight). Visitors can stay as long as they’d like during visitation hours. Once they leave the floor, their visit is over for the day.
“We are constantly evaluating the situation, which is evolving daily,” said Dr. Dunsmore. “While this system is more complex than our typical visitation guidelines, it is designed in a way that allows us to practice social distancing and minimize person-to-person contact on the unit.”
All staff and visitors will go through a NICU-specific screening process before entering the unit, consisting of a COVID-19 questionnaire and temperature check. While on the unit, staff and visitors must also wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).
“I know this has been a difficult journey for our families, and I so appreciate their patience, flexibility and resiliency during this time,” said Dr. Dunsmore. ” We’re all working together toward the same goal – protecting our babies and patients.”
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Nearly 500 new coronavirus cases have been reported in the last 24 hours, pushing the state’s total case count above 8,500.The numbers released Sunday by the state health department show an increase in the death toll from 258 to 277.
The number of new cases increased from 8,053 to 8,537.
The increase of nearly 500 cases Sunday is lower than what’s been reported the last few days, but over the last few weeks the numbers released by Virginia on Sundays have often been lower, only to resume at higher rates as the week goes on.
On Sunday Gov. Ralph Northam said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the numbers do not yet provide an indication that Virginia can consider easing the restrictions on businesses that have been imposed by executive order.
“And while we’re not seeing a significant increase, it looks like it’s flattening out a bit,” Northam said. “We would like to see at least two weeks of trending numbers going down.”
Coronavirus has erupted inside a juvenile detention center in Virginia with 25 kids testing positive, accounting for a quarter of all cases reported at youth facilities nationwide, officials said Friday.
Children’s rights advocates and health experts have warned state officials for weeks that it was just a matter of time before the virus took off inside juvenile facilities. They have called on Gov. Ralph Northam to start releasing as many children as safely possible from centers, including at the newly hit Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center outside Richmond.
“Unfortunately, those sworn to protect our vulnerable youth have failed,” said Liz Ryan, head of the Washington-based nonprofit Youth First Initiative. “It’s clear that refusing to listen to public health experts has put our youth and communities at extreme risk.”
So far, 97 kids have tested positive nationwide, more than half of them in Virginia and Louisiana.
On April 2, officials in Virginia announced two staffers at Bon Air had tested positive, but contact with residents was limited. A day later, a kid started showing symptoms and later tested positive.
Chris Moon, chief physician at Virginia’s Department of Juvenile Justice, said 21 of the 25 infected kids in Bon Air exhibited no outward symptoms and only four showed signs that were more severe than a cold or a flu.
The facility has around 280 kids, from 11 years old to 20.
“Any resident who tested positive was immediately placed in medical isolation,” Moon said, adding that 13 have already been released.
America locks up more people than any other country in the world, with more than 2.2 million men, women and children in detention. Experts say that prisons and jails can act as petri-dishes for the coronavirus. Social distancing is almost impossible, many institutions have only recently started providing inmates with masks and many do not have access to hand sanitizer.
The coronavirus has already ripped through several adult county jails along with state and federal institutions for adults.
NEWS RELEASE: (Roanoke County, VA—April 17, 2020) Roanoke County today announced it will lay off 287 part-time employees while all County facilities are closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic. The layoff begins April 24 and is intended to be temporary, pending future economic conditions. When eligible, these part-time employees will be given the option to return to work for Roanoke County.
May 9th was supposed to be a big day — and night — at Martinsville Speedway: the first-ever Cup Series race there under the lights. But it will now have to wait. The “Blue Emu-Maximum Pain Relief 500” is now postponed; the speedway says it will be rescheduled for a later date.
NEWS RELEASE: MARTINSVILLE, Va. (April 17, 2020) – As of a result of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 race weekend (May 8-9) at Martinsville Speedway has been postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date.
Martinsville Speedway will continue to work closely with NASCAR officials on a rescheduled race date, while maintaining contact with local and federal health officials for the latest information on the ongoing (COVID-19) coronavirus pandemic.
“We want to thank all of our dedicated fans who were set to join us during our May race weekend and our first NASCAR Cup Series race under the lights,” said Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell. “The well-being and safety of our patrons, NASCAR stakeholders, employees and our community continues to be our number one priority. We appreciate your patience and understanding during these challenging times and we look forward to having everyone back in the near future to help us make history once again at Martinsville Speedway.”
For the latest news, including information for fans who had previously purchased tickets, please visit www.martinsvillespeedway.com.