Johnston Reporter

A COVID-19 outbreak at the Neuse Correctional Institution left the North Carolina Division of Prisons scrambling to provide relief to staff.

The facility has seen at least 12 of its 250 staff members and 330 of the 700 inmates test positive for the novel coronavirus, according to a News & Observer report.  

To help support the active staff members, the Johnston Correctional Institution temporarily reassigned officers to the Neuse facility and is sending its prisoners to locations in Troy and Morgantown, according to the report. There have been no deaths and 98% are asymptomatic at Neuse. In the meantime, the Johnston facility is closed. 

At least 200 additional COVID-19 test results are pending since a mass review was conducted after offenders first tested positive.

The offenders at Neuse live in dormitories.

Commissioner of Prisons Todd Ishee told the News & Observes the Neuse staff needs help. 

“The staff at Neuse have been working in the toughest conditions, for weeks on end, and desperately needed support,” Ishee told the publication.  

In addition to guards, an influx of personal protective gear and disinfectant machines were delivered to Neuse Correctional Institution to protect employees and provide a healthier work environment, according to the publication. 

Visitations to the facility have been banned and it is no longer receiving inmates from county jails, according to the publication. Many inmates identified as nonviolent have been given the opportunity for early release and the completion of their sentences under community supervision.

The state is emphasizing more testing and tracing under Gov.r Roy Cooper and the Department of Health and Human Services as the state works to reopen. Some don’t think the state is moving fast enough and there have been a couple of rallies held by a group called Reopen NC. Cooper’s Stay at Home Executive Order is set to expire on April 29.