Fewer inmates test positive for COVID-19 at Telford Unit

NEW BOSTON, Texas — The Texas Department of Criminal Justice reported Wednesday night that 72 inmates at the Barry Telford Unit west of here are positive for COVID-19. This is two less than reported Tuesday night.

TDCJ reported an update Wednesday at 9 p.m. concerning the number of Texas prison inmates infected with the COVID-19 virus. The agency reports that 72 inmates are being housed in medical isolation at Telford as of Wednesday night. Isolation is used to separate ill persons who have a communicable disease from those who are healthy.

TDCJ reported Wednesday that 650 inmates at Telford are in medical restriction.

Medical restriction is used to separate and restrict the movement of well persons who may have been exposed to a communicable disease to see if they become ill.

TDCJ notes that fluctuations in numbers for particular units can be explained “by a dramatic increase in the number of medically recovered offenders. That has an impact of the active positive and medical isolation categories as well. There are also number additions that include testing from the targeted asymptomatic offender testing conducted over the past several weeks as well as the first two days of results from Strike Team testing,” TDCJ’s website states.

“Pending, positive and negative offender testing numbers also include medically ordered testing and are listed by the current location of the tested individual which is not necessarily the location where they were tested.”