Michigan prison system's coronavirus variant cases more than triple
Angie Jackson
Detroit Free Press
Known cases of the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant inside Michigan's prison system have more than tripled since the state announced an outbreak at a facility in Ionia last week.
As of Friday, 292 prisoners and 16 Michigan Department of Corrections staff were confirmed to have the variant, according to MDOC spokesman Chris Gautz.
Cases of the more contagious B.1.1.7 variant — first detected in the United Kingdom — have been confirmed at three state prisons: Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia, Duane Waters Health Center in Jackson and Macomb Correctional Facility in Lenox Township.
Officials say all of MDOC's B.1.1.7 cases are believed to be tied to an outbreak that started at Bellamy Creek. The first case, a staff member, was identified earlier this month through random genetic sequencing surveillance at a state lab, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
The department transferred some prisoners with comorbidities who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus from Bellamy Creek to Duane Waters and Macomb before the variant was detected. At those two facilities, Gautz said Friday that the variant has not been found in any prisoners who were not originally housed at Bellamy Creek.
Among prisoners, there are 276 confirmed cases of B.1.1.7 at Bellamy Creek, 14 at Macomb and two at Duane Waters. Gautz said Friday that he believed the 16 staff cases are all employees at Bellamy Creek.
More: More than half of Michigan's B.1.1.7 variant cases tied to a prison
More: Highly contagious COVID-19 strain found at Michigan prison
MDOC continues to make up the majority of Michigan's known B.1.1.7 cases. There were 422 cases across the state as of Thursday, according to MDHHS. After MDOC, Washtenaw County has the most cases, with 46.
But states have limited capacity to test for the variant. The MDOC cases were detected through a testing regimen that involves daily testing of prisoners and staff. Positive samples are sent to the state lab to sequence for the variant. All prisoners and staff at Bellamy Creek, as well as some prisoners and employees at Duane Waters and Macomb, are tested daily.
One prisoner with the variant was hospitalized as of Friday. No prisoners with the variant have died, Gautz said.
The department reported 347 active COVID-19 cases among prisoners at Bellamy Creek as of Friday, with 775 total cases at the facility since the beginning of the pandemic. So far, infections at other facilities have not surged since the variant was first reported at Bellamy Creek on Feb. 8. Active prisoner cases across the state — at 532 on Friday — are down from earlier in the month.
Experts say the B.1.1.7 variant is up to 50% more contagious than previously identified strains. Dr. Adam Lauring, an associate professor of infectious diseases and microbiology at the University of Michigan, previously told the Free Press that the variant means "less room for error" in controlling the spread in prison settings.
Some prisoners and their families remain concerned about the potential for larger outbreaks.
"My brother calls me terrified," said Sondra Snow, 55, of Olivet, whose brother is incarcerated at Bellamy Creek and had not tested positive as of Tuesday. "He calls me a couple times a day. It costs me an arm and a leg, but I can't not take his phone calls because I have to calm him down."
Stephanie Yaldo-Sheena, 25, of Royal Oak said her brother told her that he and his cellmate at Bellamy Creek are hoping to be offered the vaccine soon. Her brother doesn't qualify for the priority groups based on age or medical conditions, but she thinks that being housed in a congregate setting puts the entire prisoner population at risk.
"That’s top of their mind right now because they don’t really see any way out," Yaldo-Sheena said of the vaccine.
Angie Jackson covers the challenges of formerly incarcerated citizens as a corps member with Report for America. Her work is supported by The GroundTruth Project and the Hudson-Webber Foundation. Click here to make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work. Become a Free Press subscriber.
Angie Jackson
Detroit Free Press
Known cases of the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant inside Michigan's prison system have more than tripled since the state announced an outbreak at a facility in Ionia last week.
As of Friday, 292 prisoners and 16 Michigan Department of Corrections staff were confirmed to have the variant, according to MDOC spokesman Chris Gautz.
Cases of the more contagious B.1.1.7 variant — first detected in the United Kingdom — have been confirmed at three state prisons: Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia, Duane Waters Health Center in Jackson and Macomb Correctional Facility in Lenox Township.
Officials say all of MDOC's B.1.1.7 cases are believed to be tied to an outbreak that started at Bellamy Creek. The first case, a staff member, was identified earlier this month through random genetic sequencing surveillance at a state lab, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
The department transferred some prisoners with comorbidities who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus from Bellamy Creek to Duane Waters and Macomb before the variant was detected. At those two facilities, Gautz said Friday that the variant has not been found in any prisoners who were not originally housed at Bellamy Creek.
Among prisoners, there are 276 confirmed cases of B.1.1.7 at Bellamy Creek, 14 at Macomb and two at Duane Waters. Gautz said Friday that he believed the 16 staff cases are all employees at Bellamy Creek.
More: More than half of Michigan's B.1.1.7 variant cases tied to a prison
More: Highly contagious COVID-19 strain found at Michigan prison
MDOC continues to make up the majority of Michigan's known B.1.1.7 cases. There were 422 cases across the state as of Thursday, according to MDHHS. After MDOC, Washtenaw County has the most cases, with 46.
Michigan ranks second nationally for the highest number of B.1.1.7 variant cases behind Florida, which has 500 cases, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But states have limited capacity to test for the variant. The MDOC cases were detected through a testing regimen that involves daily testing of prisoners and staff. Positive samples are sent to the state lab to sequence for the variant. All prisoners and staff at Bellamy Creek, as well as some prisoners and employees at Duane Waters and Macomb, are tested daily.
One prisoner with the variant was hospitalized as of Friday. No prisoners with the variant have died, Gautz said.
The department reported 347 active COVID-19 cases among prisoners at Bellamy Creek as of Friday, with 775 total cases at the facility since the beginning of the pandemic. So far, infections at other facilities have not surged since the variant was first reported at Bellamy Creek on Feb. 8. Active prisoner cases across the state — at 532 on Friday — are down from earlier in the month.
Experts say the B.1.1.7 variant is up to 50% more contagious than previously identified strains. Dr. Adam Lauring, an associate professor of infectious diseases and microbiology at the University of Michigan, previously told the Free Press that the variant means "less room for error" in controlling the spread in prison settings.
Some prisoners and their families remain concerned about the potential for larger outbreaks.
"My brother calls me terrified," said Sondra Snow, 55, of Olivet, whose brother is incarcerated at Bellamy Creek and had not tested positive as of Tuesday. "He calls me a couple times a day. It costs me an arm and a leg, but I can't not take his phone calls because I have to calm him down."
Stephanie Yaldo-Sheena, 25, of Royal Oak said her brother told her that he and his cellmate at Bellamy Creek are hoping to be offered the vaccine soon. Her brother doesn't qualify for the priority groups based on age or medical conditions, but she thinks that being housed in a congregate setting puts the entire prisoner population at risk.
"That’s top of their mind right now because they don’t really see any way out," Yaldo-Sheena said of the vaccine.
Angie Jackson covers the challenges of formerly incarcerated citizens as a corps member with Report for America. Her work is supported by The GroundTruth Project and the Hudson-Webber Foundation. Click here to make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work. Become a Free Press subscriber.
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