A federal prison complex in Lompoc, California, struggled to contain the spread of the coronavirus because of staff shortages, limited use of home confinement and ineffective screening, the inspector general for the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday as he released the first results of a remote inspection.
The report found that staff members went to work despite experiencing coronavirus symptoms and that officials in March failed to test or isolate an inmate who had begun having symptoms two days earlier and eventually tested positive.
As of mid-July, four inmates there had died and more than 1,000 had tested positive, according to the inspector general's office, which has embarked on a review of 16 prisons, halfway houses and other institutions.
In Lompoc, which has four facilities housing about 2,700 inmates, 75% of inmates in one facility had positive test results as of mid-May.
“Our reports are intended to assist the [Bureau of Prisons] and the Justice Department in identifying strategies to most effectively contain current and potential future COVID-19 outbreaks,” said Inspector General Michael Horowitz in a video statement accompanying the release of the report.