Visitation has been suspended at four Tennessee Department of Correction prisons, including the one nearest Chattanooga in Bledsoe County, due to a statewide rise in COVID-19 cases.
Visitation is suspended at the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in Pikeville, Morgan County Correctional Complex in Wartburg, Turney Center Industrial Complex in Clifton and Mark Luttrell Transition Center in Memphis, according to a TDOC statement issued Tuesday.
The department first suspended visitation at all state penal facilities in early March, while those four prisons resumed visitation in late September and early October, officials said.
But TDOC officials now say the statewide increase in COVID-19 cases and a lower-than-expected number of visitors over the past few weeks revived suspension orders while the department monitors the potential impact on staff and inmates.
"Visitation at those four is now being suspended again in an effort to mitigate additional spread and protect offenders and staff," TDOC spokesperson Robert Reburn said Wednesday. "So at this time, there is no visitation within any TDOC facilities."
(READ MORE: Six arrested at Bledsoe County prison in 'Operation Naughty List')
Reburn said all correction facilities have been impacted by the virus. Facility-wide testing started in April at the Bledsoe prison after 12 positive results turned up in its population.
"The Tennessee Department of Correction is committed to protecting the safety and well-being of our staff, inmates and visitors," TDOC Commissioner Tony Parker said in an emailed statement on the suspension. "We understand the importance of maintaining contact with family members and we have worked to ensure the lines of communication between inmates and their loved ones remained opened during this time. We will continue to monitor COVID-19 developments to determine when we can safely resume visitation within our facilities."
Until then, Reburn said, inmate families have traditional means of communicating with their loved ones.
"Inmates are given one free phone call each week. The normal lines of communication for inmates and their families - phone calls and mail - are still open and available," Reburn said.
The Infectious Diseases Society of America recommended COVID-19 measures for prisons back in May, in general calling for penal facilities to stick to federal guidelines. TDOC officials said at the time that all the society's recommended protocols were being followed.
TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION COVID-19 CASES
East RegionBledsoe County Correctional Complex: 4,705 tested; 17 positive; 3,908 negative; 31 pending; 748 recovered; *1 deathMorgan County Correctional Complex: 3,563 tested; 1 positive; 3,498 negative; 40 pending; 15 recovered; 0 deathsNortheast Correctional Complex: 2,376 tested; 2 positive; 1,980 negative; 20 pending; 366 recovered; *5 deathsMiddle RegionLois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility: 1,526 tested; 4 positive; 1,355 negative; 4 pending; 138 recovered; *8 deathsRiverbend Maximum Security Institution: 1,205 tested; 12 positive; 1,112 negative; 1 pending; 74 recovered; 0 deathsDebra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center: 1,667 tested; 1 positive; 1,352 negative; 22 pending; 289 recovered; *1 deathTurney Center Industrial Complex: 1,732 tested; 4 positive,1,671 negative; 8 pending; 45 recovered; 0 deathsTurney Center Industrial Complex-Annex: 359 tested; 0 positive; 344 negative; 9 pending; 3 recovered; 0 deathsWest RegionMark Luttrell Transition Center: 418 tested; 2 positive; 333 negative; 22 pending; 60 recovered; 0 deathsNorthwest Correctional Complex: 4,190 tested; 0 positive; 3,304 negative; 12 pending; 852 recovered; *1 deathWest Tennessee State Penitentiary: 1,452 tested; 4 positive; 1,154 negative; 27 pending; 259 recovered; 0 deathsWomen’s Therapeutic Residential Center: 1,574 tested; 20 positive; 1,422 negative; 38 pending; 94 recovered; 0 deathsContract & privately managedHardeman County Correctional Facility: 2,713 tested; 3 positive; 2,383 negative; 37 pending; 288 recovered; 0 deathsSouth Central Correctional Facility: 3,264 tested; 0 positive; 2,009 negative; 14 pending; 1,224 recovered; *6 deathsTrousdale Turner Correctional Center: 3,041 tested; 1 positive; 1,652 negative; 0 pending; 1,383 recovered; *3 deathsWhiteville Correctional Facility: 1,894 tested, 1 positive, 1,812 negative; 2 pending; 77 recovered; *2 deathsTotal: 35,679 tested; 72 positive; 29,289 negative; 287 pending; 5,915 recovered; *27 deaths*Cause of death pending official determination by medical examinerSource: Tennessee Department of Correction data as of Nov. 25, 2020, at 3 p.m. CST
The coronavirus poses a particular threat to older inmates, who make up a "significant" number of the incarcerated population, society officials said. In Tennessee, there are more than 2,500 inmates in the state who are age 55 and older.
"When you remind yourself of who is in these facilities, many of these individuals have significant chronic health problems that put one at risk of having severe COVID-19 symptoms," Dr. Sandra Springer said earlier this year during a briefing on prisons and the coronavirus. Springer is a Yale associate professor of medicine and director of the Infectious Disease Outpatient Clinic, Veterans Administration Healthcare Services in Newington, Connecticut.
Springer said inmates have "significant numbers of infectious diseases including higher prevalence of HIV and Hepatitis C, chronic liver disease as well as the known conditions that are associated with severe COVID-19 such as diabetes, coronary artery disease, chronic lung disease, and hypertension and other particular chronic medical conditions."
Protecting inmates from contact with outside sources of the virus is part of efforts to keep the virus out of state prisons, along with now well-worn federal guidelines, Reburn said.
"Our staff remain vigilant in working to stop the spread within our facilities by taking all necessary precautions including wearing of face masks, social distancing when possible and frequent cleaning," he said.
The path the virus takes to get into prisons isn't certain.
"It's hard to pinpoint one specific area of introduction," Reburn said. "We have protocols in place that involve non-invasive screening of all employees daily as well as all inmates entering the facility," which includes current inmates who leave facilities for court or medical appointments as well as transferred and new inmates.
Reburn said Tennessee's prisons are well-stocked with personal protective equipment - PPE - and inmates have participated in production.
"To date, TDOC inmates have produced 78,850 paper masks, 32,239 Tyvek gowns, 250,900 face-shields, and 325,386 cloth masks," he said.
RACE/ETHNIC BREAKDOWN OF CASES
White: 3,495Black: 2,266Hispanic: 124Asian/Pacific Islander: 16American Indian/Alaskan Native: 6Unavailable: 29,251Source: Tennessee Department of Correction as of Nov. 25, 2020, at 3 p.m. CST
That hasn't always been the case.
A doctor and at least one nurse left their jobs at the Bledsoe prison in April, citing the lack of PPE at the time. Prison medical officials are contracted for their services, state officials said in April as the virus was beginning to spread, and officials with the company, Centurion, contended the rules were being followed.
Current inmates, according to correction officials, are given washable face masks and can get new masks "as needed upon request," and testing is continuing amid certain conditions.
"Staff are asked to get tested as soon as they feel symptomatic or as soon as they learn of any exposure," Reburn said. "We are utilizing targeted testing for inmates."
Among Southeast Tennessee's 12 counties, Bledsoe ranks near the bottom in the average number of new cases per day with 2.13 new cases per 10,000 people, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.