Number of infected inmates tops 1,400

May 26, 2020

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (NSF) — The number of state inmates who have tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, surpassed 1,400 on Tuesday, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.

The state prison system, which has roughly 94,000 inmates, continues to see the number of cases rise as more inmates are tested for the virus.

Corrections and health officials had conducted 12,386 tests on inmates as of Tuesday. Of those tested, 1,428 prisoners had tested positive for the virus.

Eleven inmates have also died from complications of COVID-19, but no additional deaths were recorded on Tuesday.

The vast majority of cases are concentrated in 10 prisons throughout the state.

Homestead Correctional Institution, a women’s prison in Miami-Dade County, had 285 inmate cases, the most of any prison. Liberty Correctional Institution, with 201 inmate cases, had the second-highest number of cases.

Other prisons with at least 100 inmate cases included Apalachee Correctional Institution, with 139 cases; Hamilton Correctional Institution, with 172 cases; Sumter Correctional Institution, with 104 cases; Tomoka Correctional Institution, with 135 cases; and South Bay Correctional Facility, a prison operated by The Geo Group Inc., with 159 cases.

Corrections officials also reported on Tuesday that 255 staff members had tested positive for the virus. The department has refused to say how many workers across the state have been tested.