HONOLULU — Dozens of Hawaii inmates housed at a private prison in southern Arizona are being monitored for COVID-19 symptoms, including some who had contact with inmates from Nevada who already tested positive.
The Hawaii Department of Public Safety said 45 Hawaii inmates in the same unit at the Saguaro Correctional Center are in quarantine and being monitored for symptoms, while the 28 Hawaii inmates who had contact with Nevada inmates will be quarantined for 14 days, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
Another five Hawaii inmates were being held in the medical unit for issues unrelated to COVID-19, department officials said.
Hawaii prisoners occupied more than 1,100 of the facility’s 1,926 beds as of Friday, officials said. Nevada inmates occupied an additional 99 beds.
CoreCivic, which runs the correctional center, did not immediately respond to calls by The Associated Press on Saturday.
“There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among any Hawaii inmates housed at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona. Saguaro’s parent company, CoreCivic, confirms that 69 offenders from Nevada, housed in a separate part of the facility, tested positive for COVID-19,” Public Safety spokeswoman Toni Schwartz said.
She added: “As a precautionary measure, the 28 Hawaii inmates were relocated to vacant housing and will be monitored for symptoms for 14 days, to include daily temperature checks.”
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. But for some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
Corrections Corporation of America contracts with the Hawaii Department of Public Safety to house adult, male inmates from Hawaii to ease prison overcrowding on the islands.
Saguaro Correctional Center is located in Eloy, Arizona, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) southeast of Phoenix.
In other coronavirus developments:
— Health officials announced Friday that two Oahu residents died from COVID-19, bringing the state’s death toll to 24. The state Department of Health confirmed an older man and an older woman died, both with preexisting conditions but unrelated to one another. Officials also reported 23 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, including 20 on Oahu, two on Hawaii Island and one diagnosed outside of the state. There have been more than 1,300 confirmed cases.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
— At least 182 travelers have been arrested in Hawaii for violating the 14-day mandatory quarantine, not including people arrested by the Honolulu Police Department, the state said. Hawaii News Now reported that Democratic Gov. David Ige first issued the quarantine in March and recently extended the order through August. More than 7,000 residents and out-of-state travelers are still actively being tracked as of Friday.
