Illinois has tested fewer than 2% of inmates for COVID-19 – The Southern

But remember, we also have nursing homes, we also have these developmentally disabled homes and so many other areas that also need testing. So again, it takes a lot more testing than we have today, he said during his televised press conference Monday, in response to a question from The Southern.

IDOC spokeswoman Lindsey Hess said the agency is conducting targeted and deliberate testing based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the most recent evidence available.

Hess said the goal with testing is properly and adequately responding to results and providing the best care possible within a correctional health care environment.

If an offender becomes symptomatic with fever, cough, or difficulty breathing (influenza like illness) they are assumed to be at high risk for COVID-19, Hess said in an emailed response to the newspaper. Pursuant to CDC and IDPH (Illinois Department of Public Health) guidelines, these individuals are isolated and tested. Exposed asymptomatic offenders are quarantined and monitored for symptoms.

The biggest known outbreak in an Illinois prison has been at Stateville in upstate Will County. There, 121 prisoners have tested positive, and more than 1,300 were quarantined, according to a spreadsheet that IDOC provided to lawmakers. The vast majority of those who tested positive have recovered, and 11 have died at Stateville.

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Illinois has tested fewer than 2% of inmates for COVID-19 - The Southern