2 more measles cases confirmed at center
Two more measles cases have been confirmed, bringing to 16 the total number of cases tied to an immigration detention center in Eloy, state health officials announced Friday.
The two new cases involve detainees and do not pose a risk to the public, health officials said. The 16 confirmed measles cases involve 12 detainees and four employees, health officials said.
Despite the new cases, officials also announced Friday that a limited number of visitors would be allowed into the facility.
All visitors including family members and attorneys, however, will first have to prove they have been vaccinated for the measles or are immune to the highly contagious disease, ICE officials said in a statement.
Visitation was suspended on May 27 after tests confirmed two measles cases tied to the facility.
The two newest cases come after health officials confirmed on Tuesday that a detainee released from the Eloy Detention Center at the beginning of May had measles.
The former detainee developed symptoms of the disease after he was released but then refused to get tested for measles. Public-health officials declared that his symptoms, proximity to other infected detainees and a lack of immunity were enough to confirm measles, even without a formal test.
Because the detainee was not contagious at the time he was released, he did not expose others to measles, health officials said.
The 1,550-bed Eloy Detention Center houses immigrants awaiting the outcome of deportation cases, as well as asylum seekers and legal immigrants convicted of crimes that make them eligible for removal from the U.S.
Ruben Reyes, a Phoenix immigration lawyer and the incoming chair of the Arizona chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said he appreciates “the abundance of caution” health officials have taken to contain the measles outbreak.
But he is concerned that some immigration lawyers may have difficulty proving they have been vaccinated for the measles, especially if they received shots a long time ago.