COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) released a report Sunday, April 5, 2020, listing 17 confirmed self-reported cases of the coronavirus in prison staff within the state.
The report, broken down by prison location, noted there are 7 cases in the Columbia area -- two at Camille Graham Correctional Institute, and four at Broad River and one at WatereeRiver Correctional.
Camille Graham houses women, Broad River houses men. Both facilities are located off Broad River Road in Columbia.
Livesay in Spartanburg and Turbeville Correctional Institute each reported one case of COVID-19; the remaining eight cases are listed as "Non-institutional staff" with no specified location.
SCDC spokesperson Chrysti Shain says "staff" can denote someone answering phones, a member of support personnel or human resources, not just correctional officers. Not all staff are in contact with prisoners, nor are they assigned to a particular institution.
Last week, it was reported that one of the four confirmed cases at Broad River was a guard who had returned positive test results on March 27. The officer left work and self-isolated himself on March 17.
That officer had overseen 17 prisoners in a special population of the prison. All inmates were in single cells and asymptomatic and were quarantined and monitored in single cells for a 14-day monitoring period.
Shain says throughout SCDC, only essential personnel are allowed entrance to institutions. Everyone who enters or leaves an institution has their temperature taken and is screened for symptoms.
Offenders have soap and sanitizers to clean their rooms and living areas and do so every two hours. They are continuing to have recreation time and education.
Shain says that so far, no inmate has tested positive for COVID-19.
SCDC looks to South Carolina's Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) for advice and collaboration with SCDC’s healthcare professionals throughout the COVID-19 health emergency and will monitor anyone presenting with coronavirus symptoms.
Shain says SCDC will continue to monitor cases of COVID-19 and update the reported cases as results become available.