Fifty-three employees for California state prisons have tested positive for COVID-19, according to new figures released on Sunday.
The California Institute for Men (CIM), in Chino, had 16 reported cases, the most among the state’s 18 facilities — including prisons and other offices — where employees have reported positive tests, according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
California State Prison, Sacramento had 5 positive tests and Folsom State Prison had 4, according to a tally the corrections department keeps on its website.
Among the offices with a positive test is the department’s headquarters at 1515 S Street, according to an email sent to employees in the building Friday.
The number is up from a dozen workers on March 26.
After staff members test positive, the corrections department restricts movement at their institutions and works to identify who the infected person has been in contact with, according to the department. The institutions restrict movement and quarantine people determined to be at risk.
Employees at the institutions are screened for COVID-like symptoms at the gates and turned away if they have symptoms, the department has said.
The corrections department has published extensive guidance for employees at its website, including instructions for keeping home and work surfaces clean, keeping in communication with loved ones during the pandemic and talking to children about what is happening at https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/covid19/information/.