The second staff member in a week has tested positive for Covid-19 at the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury, the state Department of Corrections said on Wednesday.
The latest staff member was tested Monday as part of a mass testing at the St. Johnsbury facility, and was last at the prison on Tuesday, corrections officials said in a news release.
The first staff member tested positive Oct. 22. That staff member was last in the facility Oct. 12.
The mass testing Monday also revealed that 236 staff and inmates at the St. Johnsbury facility tested negative for Covid-19.
The release stated that early contact tracing does not reveal a connection between the two staff members. The facility is now on lockdown while contact tracing continues. Mass testing is again slated at the facility Nov. 2.
So far, since the start of the pandemic, a total of 24 corrections staff members across all facilities have tested positive for the coronavirus.
— Alan Keays
