New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Michael P. Norton
State House News Service
The Department of Correction (DOC) announced Thursday that it met its goal on Monday of conducting universal COVID-19 testing, with 7,679 tests performed as of Wednesday and many inmates having been tested more than once.
So far, according to the DOC, 390 inmates have tested positive, for a positivity rate of 5.07 percent. Of those cases, 339 inmates have recovered and about 50 have an active diagnosis. There have been three or fewer positive cases at 11 of the 16 facilities that DOC oversees, with no positive cases at seven facilities. The testing was conducted by mobile teams consisting of DOC employees and workers at Wellpath, which provides medical services to the department. The Department of Fire Services and Brewster Ambulance Service also helped with testing.
Mobile testing will continue within all facilities on a “strategic basic” and “any inmate who meets criteria for testing is tested, and any inmate requiring a hospital-level of care is hospitalized.” The department confirmed eight COVID-19 deaths to date.
