Another 116 cases of COVID-19 confirmed at Otero County Prison Facility
Vast majority of inmates testing positive for COVID-19 have been held at privately-managed facility
Algernon D'AmmassaCHAPARRAL - The New Mexico Department of Health confirmed 116 more positive tests for COVID-19 among federal inmates at the Otero County Prison Facility in Chaparral Friday.
The privately managed facility holds inmates for federal agencies as well as the New Mexico Corrections Department. The state also announced 13 more positive tests for COVID-19 among state inmates on Friday.
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On Tuesday, the DOH reported 116 new cases among state inmates, one day after the first death of an inmate at the facility was announced.
A second death of an inmate — a man in his 60s who was a state prisoner — was announced Friday.
The maximum-security facility is managed by the Management and Training Corporation, whose website states that the prison's total capacity is 1,418. A spokeswoman for the corrections department said 545 state inmates were held there on Tuesday, but that the population may fluctuate daily.
Because of that fluctuation, and the fact that the number of positive cases do not account for recoveries, it is difficult to calculate what percentage of the prison's population had active cases Friday, and how many inmates with active cases have been transferred elsewhere.
As of Friday's reporting by the state, 219 state inmates and 272 federal inmates were reported at the Otero County Prison Facility.
At the adjacent Otero County Processing Center, also managed by MTC and housing ICE detainees, the DOH reported 92 positive cases Friday.
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The Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Valencia County and the Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe County both reported a single case each among their inmates. An inmate at the Hidalgo County Detention Center who tested positive has since retested as negative.
Of the 384 federal inmates in New Mexico that have tested positive, per DOH reporting, 71 percent were held at the Otero County Prison Facility.
Of the 221 state inmates that have tested positive, per DOH reporting, all but two were also held at the Otero County facility.
Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter.