SC Dept. of Corrections increases testing of inmates, staff due to COVID-19

A closer look at some of the changes SCDC is implementing after nearly 400 positive COVID 19 cases

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — An area that has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in South Carolina has been the state’s correctional facilities.

According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), at least 370 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in South Carolina’s prisons, with five deaths reported. SCDC also says seven of 21 facilities have reported a positive test.

ABC Columbia spoke with one woman (who asked to be anonymous) who has a loved one in one of these facilities. She says if staff members go untested, they could potentially spread a virus that puts her loved one and others at risk. 

“It’s terrifying because he can’t get away. If you’re not testing your staff, my loved one is at risk everyday of losing his life,” she told ABC Columbia. 

SCDC Director Bryan Stirling said up until a few weeks ago, they have been testing symptomatic patients. Since then, with outbreaks reported at Tyger River (Spartanburg) and MacDougall (Ridgeville), they have expanded testing to include more inmates at those two facilities alongside Kirkland (Columbia).

Through a partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), his team recently expanded that testing to staff members at those facilities.

“You attack the places where you have the problems first, and then expand out,” Stirling said. 

However, Lester Young Jr. with JustLeadership USA, an organization whose goal is to cut the prison population in half by 2030, said constructive conversations need to be had with lawmakers to come up with plans that could impact inmates in the future. He says what has taken place so far during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that more preparation is needed down the road.

“We’re playing behind the eight ball right now. This should have been something that should have been implemented when the first case of COVID happened in the prison system. We’re saying let’s use this opportunity to create a playbook so they can better protect people,” Young Jr. said.

Stirling says he anticipates that the number of tests in these facilities could number about 800 a week, but he says giving inmates masks, strengthened cleaning efforts, and testing more staff members is a start towards containing a spread.

“It’s a multi-faceted approach. It really, truly is an all-out effort to try and contain, as much as we can, the virus,” Stirling said.

Stirling said SCDC stopped taking in inmates from county jails since a transfer from one of these facilities tested positive upon arrival. That new policy is in effect until the end of July.

As of Friday, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) said there are 52,273 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Carolina with at least 922 reported deaths.