DRAPER– The Utah State Prison in Draper and Central Utah Correctional Facility are in a 24-hour lockdown after a believed transmission of COVID-19 among the basic prisoner population.The facilities went into lockdown at around 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to a statement from the Utah Department of Corrections.In its declaration, the department said it is working under guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while dealing with the scenario and is “coordinating with local health officials on quarantine and isolation procedures, performing contact tracing, and guaranteeing that correct cleansing procedures are implemented. As of Monday, no inmate deaths due to COVID-19 have actually been reported in Utah.According the Department of Corrections website, preventative procedures at the prison have actually included supplying 2 masks to all prisoners and personnel members, increasing cleansing and guaranteeing soap is available, social distancing for both prisoners and staff, moving clinically frail inmates into a single center with medical care, and developing different quarantine areas for those who are symptomatic or have actually had contact with someone who is.Multiple break outs have occurred in Utah correctional centers since the pandemic hit the Beehive State in March, and a number of jails have taken safety measures to assist slow the spread of the virus among inmates.Amid a break out in late June and early July, the Washington County jail had actually formerly imposed several preventative measures to try and include the infection, consisting of suspending programs and recreational activities, offering additional soap at no cost and improving efforts to disinfect rooms.Troubling reports emerged from inmates in both Washington and Weber Counties that they were penalized for reporting signs in early September.
