By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri Governor Mike Parson says the state had prepared for the first coronavirus case in the state’s prison system, a prisoner in St. Joseph now being treated in Kansas City.
Parson, in an interview with the Missourinet, addresses the case which arose while the inmate was imprisoned at the Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in St. Joseph.
“We knew that the prisons, the nursing homes, your seniors are the most vulnerable people here to get this virus,” Parson tells the statewide radio network. “So, we were somewhat prepared for that. So as soon as we got that, they were in isolation, they were able to be taken to isolation, figuring out who they had been around, where the possibility of that spread could come from and where it did come from.”
Internal communication from the Missouri Department of Corrections indicates the inmate was transferred to St. Joseph from Cameron.
Parson says the key is how the state reacts once it discovers such cases.
“And the same way in the prisons, once we figure out where that’s at, again, it’s isolation, it’s doing the things we’ve been telling everybody to do, whether you’re in prison or whether you’re at home,” according to Parson.
The prisoner had been admitted to the St. Joseph prison in early March. Corrections reports the prisoner is being treated at a Kansas City area hospital, where he was admitted on March 19th.
The prisoner had been isolated in a negative airflow chamber at Western Reception since March 4th after being monitored for a suspected respiratory condition. No other prisoner had contact with the inmate. No staff has reported symptoms.
Corrections officials say medical and custody staff followed all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. All rooms and vehicles the offender occupied were immediately sanitized, according to the Department of Corrections. All staff who came into contact with the infected prisoners have been notified.
Parson says it is the first, and at present, the only case of COVID-19 in a state prison.
“It’s the only one I know of now, but there will be more cases,” Parson warns. “I don’t think we’re immune from that. So, I think there will be more cases that possibly could come up. I hope not. We’re doing everything we can to (prevent) that.”
The Missourinet contributed to this report.