Prison Facility In Somers Locked Down Following Coronavirus Tests

SOMERS, CT — The Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers was placed on lockdown Friday after 105 asymptomatic inmates tested positive for the new coronavirus, the Connecticut Department of Correction (DOC) reported.

On Wednesday, the DOC began the process of testing all staff and inmates, starting at the Osborn facility. After testing 617 offenders in two days, the results of 339 tests have returned with 105 of those confirmed positive for the virus. The final 278 tests are pending results from the laboratory, the DOC reported.

A portion of the inmate population opted out of being tested, and "out of an abundance of caution these offenders will be treated as if they are asymptomatic carriers of the virus," according to the DOC. The isolation period will last 14 days.

About 1,060 inmates are currently housed at the Osborn facility. Any inmates testing positive for the virus are transferred to the Medical Isolation Unit at the Northern Correctional Institution, the DOC reported.

Testing for DOC staff members from area facilities, including Osborn, Northern, Carl Robinson and Willard-Cybulski, also began Wednesday. So far, a total of 163 staff members have been tested, with results still pending. Of the 369 staff members agency-wide who tested positive prior to May 13, about 300 have returned to work, the DOC reported.

"We are grateful to see the availability for mass testing become a reality. By testing everybody - staff as well as offenders - we are better able to protect everybody, those who are infected and those who are not," Commissioner Rollin Cook said. "The hope is that no one who tests positive becomes symptomatic, but if they do we are prepared to care for them."

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