Coyote Ridge Correctional Center in Connell, Washington.

Coyote Ridge Correctional Center in Connell, Washington.

Central Washington prison has high number of COVID-19 cases

83 inmates and 38 staff members have tested positive at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell.

By Arielle Dreher / The Spokesman-Review

State officials are considering expanding COVID-19 testing at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell, where few inmates have been tested despite a high rate of positive results and many have been placed in isolation after being exposed to the virus.

As of Tuesday, Coyote Ridge had tested just 129 of its more than 2,000 inmates for COVID-19 despite it being nearly three weeks since the first cases were found inside the Connell prison in late May.

So far, 83 of those incarcerated individuals have tested positive. That’s a 64% positive rate. Twenty-one inmates have been sent up to Airway Heights Corrections Center, where a regional care facility was set up to treat inmates who need more medical attention.

Thirty-eight staff members have also tested positive for the disease.

More than 1,800 inmates who may have been exposed to the virus are currently quarantined from others. But last week, the Department of Corrections said they were only testing symptomatic inmates and had no plans to test everyone.

As cases continue to rise among inmates and staff, the department’s tune began to change this week.

“We’ve been having a variety of conversations with the Department of Corrections about their testing protocol. They are looking into the options with regard to significantly expanded testing at Coyote Ridge,” Reed Schuler, senior policy adviser to Gov. Jay Inslee, said on a press call Tuesday.

He said that there should be news about testing efforts at Coyote Ridge later this week.

For Washingtonians with loved ones inside Coyote Ridge, where the largest outbreak in a prison statewide is happening, that seems too late.

Some worry that the virus can easily spread among incarcerated individuals, especially on units where men share cells and close living quarters. Last week, the medium security complex was put on “restricted movement” due to the virus’ spread, but the minimum security complex was not.

At-risk individuals at Coyote Ridge were moved to a unit called Sage East early on in the pandemic, where correctional officers must stay if they begin a shift on the unit. Otherwise, correctional officers, who wear and use personal protective equipment, are not required to stay on specific units.

“There may be situations that staff would work in an area and then work in another area during the same shift or on an additional shift,” a statement from DOC to The Spokesman-Review said.

Danielle Carlson, a certified nursing assistant who formerly worked at a Yakima nursing home at the outset of the pandemic, is concerned about the outbreak. Her boyfriend is incarcerated at Coyote Ridge. That correctional officers are able to go back and forth between units concerns Carlson, especially because they are the only ones who move between units, allowing for the possibility for the virus to move with them.

When COVID-19 came to Yakima, she was required to work in the same section at her nursing home and could not move from unit to unit, she said, so why, she wonders, should correctional officers be allowed to move?

“If you don’t have enough people, you should send people (inmates) home, or start hiring other people,” she said.

Carlson is still able to speak with her boyfriend daily because his unit is not yet locked down , but he is in a cell with at least one other person and with several others on his unit, she said. Carlson said once her nursing home got one positive coronavirus case, they tested everyone, finding some people who tested positive despite showing no symptoms.

“Even if you don’t have symptoms, I think people should get tested,” she said.

Ultimately, Carlson just wants her boyfriend and those like him, who only have a few months left until their release, to be protected from COVID-19.

“It’s sad that these people who are about ready to get out but can’t have to deal with this, even though they might not want to test everyone because it costs money,” she said. “Are you trying to make sure these people can go home to their families? It’s scary to think about when you have a loved one in there.”

As of June 10, 33 individuals were in isolation and 1,815 individuals were in quarantine at Coyote Ridge.

Inmates who are symptomatic are in isolation and are assessed three times a day, while all inmates in the medium security complex are assessed by nursing staff once a day.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Northwest

Alaska Airlines aircraft sit in the airline's hangar at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in SeaTac, Wash. Boeing has acknowledged in a letter to Congress that it cannot find records for work done on a door panel that blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight over Oregon two months ago. Ziad Ojakli, Boeing executive vice president and chief government lobbyist, wrote to Sen. Maria Cantwell on Friday, March 8 saying, “We have looked extensively and have not found any such documentation.” (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
FBI tells passengers on 737 flight they might be crime victims

Passengers received letters this week from a victim specialist from the federal agency’s Seattle office.

Skylar Meade (left) and Nicholas Umphenour.
Idaho prison gang member and accomplice caught after ambush

Pair may have killed 2 while on the run, police say. Three police officers were hospitalized with gunshot wounds after the attack at a Boise hospital.

Barbara Peraza-Garcia holds her 2-year-old daughter, Frailys, while her partner Franklin Peraza sits on their bed in their 'micro apartment' in Seattle on Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
Micro-apartments are back after nearly a century, as need for affordable housing soars

Boarding houses that rented single rooms to low-income, blue-collar or temporary workers were prevalent across the U.S. in the early 1900s.

Teen blamed for crash that kills woman, 3 children in Renton

Four people were hospitalized, including three with life-threatening injuries. The teenage driver said to be at fault is under guard at a hospital.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee proposed his final state budget on Tuesday. It calls for a new wealth tax, an increase in business taxes, along with some programs and a closure of a women’s prison. The plan will be a starting point for state lawmakers in the 2025 legislative session. (Jerry Cornfield / Washington State Standard)
Inslee proposes taxing the wealthy and businesses to close budget gap

His final spending plan calls for raising about $13 billion over four years from additional taxes. Republicans decry the approach.

The Snohomish County Jail is pictured on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
First bills drop ahead of WA’s 2025 legislative session

Permanent standard time, immigration policies and fentanyl penalties were among the proposals pre-filed Monday.

Teslas charging in Victorville, Calif., on March 11. Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and one of President-elect Donald Trump’s biggest supporters, has said the government should eliminate all subsidies for electric vehicles. (Lauren Justice / The New York Times)
Once a must for wealthy Seattle-area liberals, Teslas feel Elon backlash

For many, Tesla has changed from a brand associated with climate action and innovation to something “much more divisive.”

The livery on a Boeing plane. (Christopher Pike / Bloomberg)
Boeing’s new CEO clips corporate jet trips in show of restraint

It’s one of several moves by Kelly Ortberg in recent months to permanently shrink Boeing’s costs.

Dorian Cerda, who was aboard a plane that caught fire over the Gulf of Mexico, in Lake Placid, Fla., on Sunday. Extreme turbulence, a blown-out door, an engine on fire: For passengers and crew members who have experienced in-air emergencies, the pain endures. (Saul Martinez / The New York Times)
‘Everyone thought we were going to die’: Life after flight trauma

After the midair Alaska Airlines blowout earlier this year, Shandy Brewer has had recurring nightmares. She’s not alone.

Snohomish County Superior Courthouse in Everett, Washington on February 8, 2022.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
WA court system outage means firearm sales on hold

Buyers must wait until the Washington State Patrol can access databases for background checks.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks at the Snohomish & Island County Labor Council champions dinner on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Ferguson, WA Democrats prepare for new era of showdowns with Trump

Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson and Attorney General-elect Nick Brown are readying their legal teams.

From left to right, Dave Larson and Sal Mungia.
WA Supreme Court race is incredibly close

Just 0.05% separated Sal Mungia and Dave Larson on Tuesday. More votes will come Wednesday.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.