ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, REHABILITATION AND REENTRY
COVID-19 Management Strategy Update
(PHOENIX)— Of the more than 42,000 inmates currently housed in ADCRR custody and care, there are no known cases of the COVID-19. Of those inmates evaluated for flu-like symptoms, 34 inmates have been tested for COVID-19, 29 are negative, and 5 test results are currently pending.
As there are limited PPE supplies across the country for law enforcement, first responders, and healthcare providers, we do not want to consume these critical supplies unnecessarily. At this point in the pandemic, our posture continues to focus on presentation of symptoms which has been effective in managing the situation to this point. According to CDC recommendations, masks should be worn by patients with active virus symptoms during transportation to monitoring sites and those providers at healthcare facilities directly treating those patients. As the situation dictates, PPE is available for all employees to appropriately respond. This procedure and protocol matches the ADCRR direction for meeting all infectious disease threats encountered in the correctional environment. The best advice by the CDC and ADHS is to wash hands frequently and wipe down common areas with properly mixed disinfectant spray. Should CDC guidelines change, ADCRR will adapt our posture to meet those new directives.
For decades, the department has been well prepared to manage infectious diseases and uniquely positioned to manage the even greater threat of airborne illnesses which include tuberculosis.
“I am tremendously grateful for the great work the men and women of ADCRR do each day across the department to protect the community and do our part to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” said ADCRR Director, David Shinn.
Additional proactive measures ADCRR has taken in planning a response to this pandemic include suspending inmate visitation, routinely checking staff for flu-like symptoms, suspending outside work details, isolation of inmates experiencing flu like symptoms, suspension of routine inmate movement, and finalizing measures to strategically control admissions to the entire state correctional system of more than 42,000 offenders.