Covid Outbreak Prompts Restrictions At Hawaii’s Largest Prison
So far 58 prisoners have tested positive.
Dozens of prisoners and at least one corrections officer at Halawa Correctional Facility have tested positive for Covid-19, leading to restrictions on activities at the state’s largest prison.
Due to the outbreak, regular programming has been suspended under temporary restrictions imposed Wednesday, according to Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Toni Schwartz. Recreation time is being staggered for housing modules, she said.
Nobody has been hospitalized, but 58 inmates and one corrections officer tested positive, Schwartz said Monday in a written statement.
“As the Department of Health stated recently, there is a new wave of COVID-19 infections spreading across the state,” Schwartz wrote. “Unfortunately, when there is rapid community spread it impacts congregate settings, including jails and prisons.”
The Department of Public Safety implemented its pandemic聽protocol聽to temporarily limit movement inside and outside of the facility “until further notice,” Schwartz added.
The restrictions comply with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state Department of Health, and are aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus to the rest of the inmate population and to the public.
