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HAWAII PSD NEWS RELEASE: MASS TESTING OF INMATES TO BEGIN AT SAGUARO CORRECTIONAL CENTER

Posted on Oct 26, 2020 in Latest Department News, Newsroom

HONOLULU – The Hawaii Department of Public Safety (PSD) has directed CoreCivic to conduct mass testing of all Hawai‘i inmates at their Saguaro Correctional Center (Saguaro) in Eloy, AZ. The broad-based testing being administered by CoreCivic Health Services staff will begin Thursday. The testing of all inmates is expected to be completed in one (1) day.

The total number of Hawai‘i inmates in medical isolation at Saguaro with active positive COVID-19 cases is 52. There are seven (7) inmates in the hospital, ten (10) inmates with pending test results in medical isolation at the facility, and 741 inmates in a precautionary 14-day quarantine.

“The Department is in constant communication with the Saguaro facility administration. The Warden and I both agreed that expedited testing is necessary to identify hotspots and contain the spread. Saguaro is bringing in nurses from other facilities so they can accomplish testing in one day. The facility has its isolation/quarantine plans ready to go once results are received, and staff have assured us they are following the CDC’s COVID-19 guidelines for correctional facilities,” says Fred Hyun, acting PSD director.

On top of testing, Saguaro also assures PSD that the facility will continue to implement stringent sanitation and hygiene measures to limit potential exposure and mitigate the spread of coronavirus to inmates and staff.

For more information on Saguaro Correctional Center operations and CoreCivic’s COVID-19 procedure please go to CoreCivic’s COVID-19 web page. The address is https://www.corecivic.com/en/corecivic-statement-on-covid-19-prevention

On this page you will find a lot of information including the items below, implemented at Saguaro, to limit potential exposure and prevent the spread of coronavirus to inmates and staff:

  • Enhanced cleaning/disinfecting and hygiene practices
  • Suspended inmate social in-person visitation as of March 18
  • Suspended all volunteer visits to the facility
  • Implemented enhanced screening of employees with no-touch infra-red thermometer and verbal health screening questionnaire
  • Conducting bi-weekly town hall meetings with all inmates –sharing information and, reminders of importance of good health habits and reporting of fever, cough and/or respiratory issues immediately
  • Suspended medical co-pays
  • Temporarily suspended non-essential programming
  • Placed posters/signage in housing units and staff areas showing how to stop the spread of germs
  • Medical screened the entire Hawai‘i population and identified inmates in the higher risk category due to ongoing health issues. These inmates have been moved to separate housing units away from the general population.

There are currently 1,082 Hawai‘i inmates at Saguaro.

For more information on PSD’s planning and response to COVID-19, inmate testing data, and information detailing the efforts made to safeguard the inmates, staff and public, visit our webpage at: https://dps.hawaii.gov/blog/2020/03/17/coronavirus-covid-19-information-and-resources/

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Media Contact:

Toni Schwartz
Public Information Officer
Hawaii Department of Public Safety
Office: 808-587-1358
Cell: 808-683-5507
[email protected]
https://hawaii.gov/psd/
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/HawaiiPSD
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/HawaiiPSD