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Four Dead, 41 Positives For COVID-19 At Blackwater Prison, Hundreds In Quarantine; Six Quarantined At Century Prison

New data from the Florida Department of Corrections provides insight into the COVID-19 situation at Blackwater Correctional Facility in Milton and Century Correctional Institution.

As of Friday, there have been four inmate deaths at Blackwater, 34 positive inmates (including the fatalities) and nine positive staff member cases. Six inmates have tested negative and 11 are awaiting results.

There are 737 inmates on medical quarantine at Blackwater and 23 inmates in medical isolation.

At Century Correctional, one staff member has tested positive and six are in security quarantine.

The Florida Department of Corrections provided the followig definitions of “medical isolation”, “medical quarantine” and “security quarantine”"

• “Medical quarantine refers to the practice of separating individuals who have had close contact with a person who has tested positive or presented with symptoms of an infectious illness to determine whether they develop symptoms. All inmates in medical quarantine are monitored by health services staff and receive temperature checks twice a day to check for signs of fever. If an inmate begins experiencing symptoms indicative of COVID-19, FDC will place the inmate in medical isolation and immediately engage with the county health department,” the prison system said in a statement.
• “Medical Isolation refers to the practice of separating a confirmed or suspected individual with an infectious illness, to prevent contact with others and to reduce the risk of transmission. All inmates in medical isolation are tested for COVID-19 and are monitored by health services staff,” according to FDC.
• “Security Quarantine refers to the practice of separating individuals who have recently transferred to a correctional facility. These inmates are asymptomatic and entering the facility from outside court, a community/work release center, county jail, etc. Security quarantine is a precautionary measure. Medical staff monitor these inmates to ensure no inmates show symptoms of illness. At the conclusion of security quarantine, inmates are moved to the general population.”