Green Bay Correctional Institution has highest COVID-19 count at a Wisconsin prison

ALLOUEZ, Wis. (WLUK) -- The coronavirus has found its way inside a place designed to keep people from getting out.

Earlier this month, there were nine active COVID-19 cases among inmates in the entire Wisconsin Department of Corrections system.

Ten days ago, there were 57 positive cases at Green Bay Correctional Institution alone. Now there are 261 cases at the maximum security facility, and 217 are active.

"Where does it stop? When does 250 become 500?" Jim Cairns asked.

Cairns is the chair of a prison reform task force at JOSHUA, which stands for Justice Organization Sharing Hope & United for Action.

"We were expecting it. We've been trying to bring COVID to the attention of the department of corrections since February," Cairns said.

Enhanced cleaning has been in place since the start of the pandemic. Masks have also been required since mid-May. And for now, visitors aren't being allowed inside. None of it has been enough to stop COVID-19.

A spokesperson says the prison is designed to hold 749 people. Currently, it has 1,003 inmates behind the walls, and more than one in five have gotten the virus.

Cairns says the Wisconsin Justice Initiative has gotten inside information from people incarcerated at GBCI, through phone calls made to their relatives.

"Seven years was not supposed to be a death sentence," Cairns continued. "I cannot imagine being isolated from family, and in a small cell with one other person who I can’t socially distance from, allowed two phone calls a week, one shower a week, in 90 (degree weather)."

We tried to get a hold of the Department of Corrections on Thursday and Friday for an interview, but they’ve been unable to talk with us.

Communications Director John Beard with the Department of Corrections sent us the following statement:

The mass testing recently completed at Green Bay Correctional Institution by the Wisconsin National Guard has helped us identify more positive cases, not just those with symptoms. Now we can isolate those who tested positive, and quarantine and monitor those who were exposed, better protecting everyone at the institution. The safety of staff and persons in our care is our primary concern as we work to limit further spread of COVID-19 at the facility.

In a press release, officials also pointed out that the system has seen fewer cases than those in neighboring states.

They plan to eventually test every staff member and inmate.