Seventeen people have been tested for coronavirus in five Ohio prisons 鈥� 13 results were negative and the rest are pending, and those inmates are in isolation. Those numbers come from a new daily update that the state is now providing on testing in prisons and youth facilities.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio had asked for those daily numbers. Spokesman Gary Daniels said many people come into overcrowded jails and prisons with health problems, so COVID-19 could easily spread.
鈥淲e practice isolation, social isolation, social distancing. Good luck doing that in a prison or jail environment 鈥� it鈥檚 very difficult," Daniels said.
over the last two days that inmates were tested at the Dayton, Grafton, Lorain and Noble County institutions and the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.
Visitors were banned at prisons and jails early in the coronavirus crisis.
While some people at higher risk for COVID-19 are being released from jails, DeWine has said there are no plans to release inmates in prisons.
As of the state's latest report in January, there were , which is about 127% over capacity.
