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Inmates Wrap Up Quarantine, Staff Tested After COVID-19 Exposure in Berlin Prison

courtesy of Federal Bureau of Prisons

The federal prison in Berlin says inmates who tested positive with the coronavirus earlier this month have all recovered, but the prison has continued widespread testing to monitor for more cases.

Prison spokesman Aaron Posthumus says that after eight inmates tested positive earlier this month, they and inmates who had close contact with them were placed in quarantine. 

After the initial cases, all 570 or so inmates were tested twice.

The prison is getting its second round of test results back now, and so far, there are no new cases of COVID-19 among inmates. All the inmates on quarantine are transitioning this week out of isolation, Posthumus says.

The state health department has offered voluntary testing to prison staff. By the end of Wednesday, the vast majority of staff will have also been tested at least once. So far, two staff members are positive for COVID-19.

Sarah Gibson joined NHPR's newsroom in 2018. She reports on education and demographics.
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