GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Three inmates tested positive for COVID-19 at the Kent County Correctional Facility on Tuesday.
All three inmates live together in the same housing unit and were experiencing mild symptoms over the weekend, according to a news release Wednesday.
They’ve been moved to isolation cells, their housing unit was quarantined and their cellmates have all tested negative for the virus so far.
Although contact tracing is still ongoing, the kitchen area has been identified as a possible area of concern, as one of the three positive inmates worked in the kitchen and there was also a contracted civilian kitchen worker who tested positive.
Kitchen services have therefore been reduced to sack lunch-style meals.
The housing unit where the kitchen inmate workers live is also being quarantined.
The Kent County Jail tests all new inmates for COVID-19 upon arraignment, after 48 hours of arrest but before they enter the general prison population.
Positive inmates get isolated, while negative inmates are moved to complete 14 days of quarantine before entering the general population of inmates.