WINFIELD, Kan. (AP) — Public health officials are trying to determine whether a coronavirus variant is fueling a new outbreak at a Kansas prison.
Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said there had been no cases for weeks at Winfield Correctional Facility before a “whole cluster of cases broke out,” The Wichita Eagle reports.
“We did the epidemiologic tracking and found it came in through the community through the food service workers, and then went from there to some other places,” Norman said Tuesday during a virtual media briefing hosted by the University of Kansas Health System. “But it was very fast spread, and we’re going to test every one of those positive individuals with genomic sequencing.”
The Kansas Department of Corrections reported that Winfield’s prison currently had eight staff cases and 69 inmates cases as of Monday. Statewide, there have been 5,628 inmates and 1,174 staff members infected since the pandemic began.
Norman said the outbreak shows why it is important to vaccinate inmates early. They are part of the second phase, along with those over the age of 65 and essential workers.
But that has been controversial, with the Kansas Republican Party tweeting earlier this month: “Prioritize law-abiding Kansans first!”
