The number of Covid-19 cases among incarcerated people in Vermont tripled in a single day, according to the Department of Corrections.
The department announced Saturday that it had discovered 47 additional cases at the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury.
Tests administered Thursday found 38 new cases among incarcerated people and nine among staff at the prison. The incarcerated people who tested positive for the virus live in the same building as 11 other inmates previously diagnosed with Covid. In total, 59 people lived in the building when the virus was first detected, according to the department.
As of last week, 157 people were lodged at the St. Johnsbury facility, according to a department census.
In total, 57 incarcerated individuals were considered positive for Covid across five state facilities. Another 72 staff members — across six correctional facilities, six field offices and the Vermont Correctional Academy — had the virus, according to a Saturday press release.
That’s up from the 18 incarcerated people and 64 staff members who were known to be positive for the virus as of Friday afternoon.
No one has been hospitalized and no one has serious symptoms, Corrections Commissioner Nicholas Deml said in the Saturday press release.
The St. Johnsbury facility remains on full lockdown, and the Department of Corrections and Department of Health are coordinating on follow-up testing this week.
