Tennessee corrections officials are looking into whether to test all state inmates for the new coronavirus after positive tests have come back for staffers and inmates.
On Friday, the department mass tested 1,145 workers at Northwest Correctional Complex and Bledsoe County Correctional Complex. Thirteen department staff and six contract workers tested positive, each asymptomatic at the time of testing.
The widespread testing came in reaction to six workers previously testing positive at the facilities. The department’s website says four inmates have tested positive.
There were more than 21,700 state inmates in adult facilities as of February.