HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Specialized strike teams fanned out across the state’s vast prison system began testing inmates for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
The actual testing, which amounts to a mouth swab, is done by the inmates themselves under the supervision of the strike team members.
COVID-19 positive tests in Texas prison system tops 2,000
Once the tests are submitted for examination, it takes from 24 to 48 hours to get the results.
According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), clinical studies suggest that these tests have equivalent sensitivity to nasal swabs.
Prison officials said the testing is their most recent move in the COVID-19 battle in the prison system.
More than 43,000 inmates are currently under lockdown.
“A complete lockdown is being instituted on any facility where there is a positive COVID-19 test for either an offender, an employee or a staff member who has been on that unit,” TDCJ Spokesman Jeremy Desel said. “The point of the lockdown is to limit offender movement as much as possible within the units."
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