Tensions rise over virus inside Connecticut prisons

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A second Connecticut state prison inmate has tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Tuesday as tensions rose inside correctional facilities where prisoners increasingly are concerned about the coronavirus.

The Corrigan-Radgowski prison in Uncasville was locked down Tuesday after a 24-year-old male inmate, who began developing symptoms on March 26, was confirmed to have the virus, the Department of Correction said.

Another inmate and a correction officer at that prison had previously tested positive for the coronavirus. Officials are still waiting for test results on nine other inmates at Corrigan-Radgowski, including the 24-year-old's cellmate.

Meanwhile, former death-row inmate Eduardo Santiago told The Associated Press that he and other inmates inside the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield are worried that staff members may be bringing the virus inside.

Santiago said officers continue to pat down and otherwise have physical contact with inmates. He said no staff members are wearing masks and social distancing is not being enforced.

“It's a powder keg,” he said in a telephone interview. “Everyone is looking at every CO like they're a walking bomb. They are yelling at the COs and at the counselors to get the hell off the block."

The department said it has taken numerous steps to curb the spread of the virus including: the suspension of outside visits; wellness checks of anyone entering the building; placing new inmates in 14-day isolation units; and reducing transfers.

Other coronavirus developments in Connecticut:

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