WASHINGTON — D.C. Department of Corrections notified employees on April 4 that two more inmates tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total of in-custody cases to 14.
DOC officials report a 35-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman were the latest inmates to test positive.
The man is being held in isolation and is currently being monitored according to CDC guidelines. He was previously being held in the Correctional Treatment Facility, D Building.
The woman was being held in the Correctional Treatment Facility, E Building, her unit was quarantined on April 1 as a precautionary measure after another person from the unit tested positive for COVID-19. She is also being held in isolation and monitored according to CDC guidelines.
DC DOC’s Medical Department and Unity Healthcare will continue working with DC Health on contact tracing and to protect the health and well-being of individuals in DOC's facilities.
Additional details weren't immediately available.
News of these new DOC cases comes after DOC officers filed a lawsuit alleging inmates at staff are not being properly protected during the outbreak.
The allegations include little to no personal protective equipment available to corrections officers, a lack of cleaning supplies, social distancing as non-existent, lack of "true quarantine" in the facility, and that proper notification for individuals who have come into contact with inmates/officers who test positive for coronavirus is not happening.
More than 900 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in D.C. as of April 4.