HUNDREDS OF DONOVAN STATE PRISON INMATES INFECTED WITH COVID-19

More than 400 inmates at Donovan State Prison have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days, making the Otay Mesa lockup the site of one of the worst outbreaks for the deadly virus within the state prison system.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported 411 active cases inside Donovan on Tuesday. All but three of the cases occurred in the past two weeks.

Donovan officials activated an incident command post, “to ensure immediate communication and coordination between operations, health care, and public health experts to address positive COVID-19 cases at the institution,” state prisons spokeswoman Terri Hardy said by email.

“Based on public health recommendations, in-person visiting has been suspended since March,” she added. California Department of Corrections “continues to work towards safely and securely implementing video visiting at all institutions by the end of the year.”

Prison officials are conducting mass testing of the incarcerated population each week, and weekly staff testing is mandatory, Hardy said. The prison also is following isolation and quarantine protocols and health care guidance for inmates, she said.

None of the cases at Donovan have been fatal, according to the state corrections department website.

The novel coronavirus continues to be a serious problem inside state prisons, which have reported more than 30,000 confirmed cases at facilities across California and 101 deaths since the pandemic was declared in March.

Some 8,400 active COVID-19 cases have been confirmed systemwide in the past two weeks.

In all, the department reported 9,398 active cases — almost 10 percent of the state prison’s approximately 97,000 inmates.

An employee at Donovan said previous outbreaks were generally limited to staff, but lax observance of safety rules and protective gear led to inmates getting sick.

The employee asked not to be identified because the employee is not authorized to speak to reporters.

The infected inmates are being housed in gyms to help prevent the virus from spreading further, the employee said. Testing has been widely implemented and more masks and other equipment are being distributed.

“They can ask for an N-95 (mask) if they walk into areas where there are prisoners, and if it’s an area with COVID-positive prisoners they can get the full PPE (personal protective equipment),” the employee said.

“But some custodial staff are not wearing their masks or wearing them incorrectly when near prisoners, especially in areas where there are no cameras — like the four yards and housing units,” the employee said.

The worst outbreak in the state prison system is at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, where more than 1,100 patients have been infected in the past two weeks.

The Correctional Training Facility in Soledad was the secondhighest, with 879 active cases among inmates and almost twice that confirmed since March, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Like nursing homes and hospitals, jails and prisons across the country have suffered from COVID-19 outbreaks because inmates are housed in congregate living settings.

San Diego County jails also have experienced serious infection rates in recent weeks and months. The Sheriff ’s Department on Tuesday reported that a total of 399 inmates and 235 staff have tested positive for the virus since March.

Of those, 190 inmates and 77 employees had active infections, the department said.