Wyatt Detention Center Hit with 60 New Coronavirus Cases

Wyatt Detention Center Hit with 60 New Coronavirus Cases

Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls has been hit with 60 new cases of the coronavirus.

“After our most recent round of comprehensive testing and monitoring of COVID-19 within the Facility, we are aware of 52 detainees and 8 staff members who are currently positive for the virus. We continue to work closely with the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) to implement measures to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus,” said the statement by the facility on Tuesday.

Wyatt’s statement went on to say that these measures, approved by RIDOH, include: 

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·       Conducting another round of saturation testing of detainees and staff.

·       Performing contact tracing with RIDOH’s assistance.

·       Assigning positive detainees to dedicated COVID-19 cohort units.

·       Assigning negative detainees to fully sanitized negative cohort units.

·       Requiring any positive staff to continue to quarantine at home.

·       Continuing to ensure that all detainees and staff have sufficient and appropriate Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies.

·       Consulting with RIDOH’s Congregate Settings Support Team on additional measures and best practices to mitigate community spread.

“Given that the Wyatt Detention Facility is a congregate setting, much like nursing homes and hospitals, and that the coronavirus spreads easily as a respiratory-based illness, we and RIDOH anticipated we would have additional cases and are fully prepared to respond to this increase in cases among our population,” added the statement