Five inmates has tested positive for COVID-19 at a state prison in Pickaway County.
The tests were shared on Monday by state officials that the inmate at Pickaway Correctional Institution (PCI) in Orient is infected with the pandemic disease.
2,041 other inmates are in isolation, as a result and are being kept away from each other.
More inmates claim to outsiders that they are sick, but no testing is being conducted.
One inmate is being housed at Pickaway Correctional Institute and said he and many in his unit have been experiencing coronavirus symptoms for over a week. Despite chest pains and difficulty breathing, as well as a cough, the inmate was denied testing in the prison’s medical bay because he didn’t have an “outrageous fever”, according to Fox News.
The inmate, in his 30s and who is incarcerated for the first time on non-violent drug offenses, said he and others have been threatened by corrections officers if they spoke about their symptoms and the lack of testing. He made his allegations in emails to a family member, who made them available to Fox News.
“Nobody knows this is happening to us,” the inmate said. “People are passing out in my unit everyday.“
An outbreak at Pickaway Correctional Institution, which houses over 2,000 inmates, could flood Franklin Medical Center, the prison system’s designated hospital, with patients. Currently, there are six patients under quarantine at the hospital, according to Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) data.