Two more COVID-19 cases were confirmed Wednesday among inmates at Hawaii Community Correctional Center bringing the current cluster of cases at the Hilo jail to six.
The Department of Public Safety placed two of the facility’s three housing units in quarantine Monday after two recently admitted inmates tested positive for the novel coronavirus. On Tuesday, the department said three more inmates tested positive. On Wednesday, two more inmates received confirmation of being infected with COVID-19.
The department said Wednesday that one of the inmates who had tested positive was released after serving their full sentence. That person is being assisted by the Departmment of Helath with quarantine housing.
Contract tracing continues and voluntary testing is being coordinated for inmates and staff, the department reitereated Wednesday.
The enactment of the facility’s pandemic protocol, which also suspends all inmate movement from the facility, came less than a month after the facility emerged April 26 from quarantine prompted by two positive tests among staff.
As of the most recent bi-monthly population report issued Wednesday with data as recent as May 17, Hawaii Community Correctional Center reported housing 338 inmates, which exceeds operational capacity by 112 persons. As of the last report issued April 5, the jail reported housing 298 inmates, which exceeded operational capacity by 72 persons.