Department of Corrections Announce Contract Healthcare Worker Tests Positive for COVID-19

The Wyoming Department of Corrections announced via a news release Thursday that a contract healthcare worker from the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins has tested positive for COVID-19. The individual and an additional five staff members from the  penitentiary who had extended direct contact with the confirmed person, are currently self quarantining.

The individual who tested positive did not have any exposure to any of the inmates at the penitentiary. There are no positive cases within the inmate population at the Wyoming State Penitentiary or any other Wyoming prison at this time. It was recently reported that the Wyoming Department of Corrections was preparing to test their entire inmate and staff population over the course of several weeks.  The testing that was scheduled for inmates and staff in August has been moved up to next week under the advice of the Wyoming Department of Health, due to the recent developments.

In June, 87 inmates were returned to Wyoming from a private prison in Mississippi.  Upon arrival, those inmates were tested as a precaution and no positive cases were reported.  The WDOC continues to quarantine and test all newly committed inmates.  This is the second case of COVID-19 within the Department’s employees and contract staff since the pandemic began.  A staff member at the Wyoming Women’s Center tested positive in April but has since made a full recovery.