By Gretchen Schuldt
This post was updated on May 20 to reflect additional positive coronavirus tests reported by the Department of Corrections. The number of people incarcerated in state prisons testing positive for the coronavirus jumped 70% this week, from 20 last week to 34, according to Department of Corrections figures. Meanwhile, the state's prison population still is declining during the coronavirus crisis, but at a much slower pace than it did earlier in the pandemic, DOC figures show. The biggest virus outbreak is at the Felmers O. Chaney Correctional Center in Milwaukee, where 18 people have tested positive as of Wednesday, up from 13 on Monday. Five tested positive as of Wednesday at the Marshall E. Sherrer Correctional Center, also in Milwaukee. That number is up one since Monday. Another 116 residents of those two facilities have tested negative. The DOC last week tested all 125 or so of the people held at those facilities at the time. All of the testing has been completed and the results received. Two people incarcerated at Columbia Correctional Institution have tested positive, as have eight at Oshkosh Correctional Institution and one at Waupun Correctional Institution, according to the figures. Some 1,047 people are in quarantine, meaning they were potentially or directly exposed to the virus, according to the DOC. During the week that ended Friday, May 15, the number of occupied prison beds fell by 128, just 52% of the 243-inmate decline recorded the week ending April 10, which saw the biggest drop recorded thus far during the pandemic. The number of occupied beds in the prison system has dropped from 23,273 on Feb. 28 to 22,008 on Friday, a decline of 1,265, or 5.4%. The prison system is still about 25% over capacity. The number of filled inmate beds (as opposed to community corrections beds) at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility rose for the sixth week in a row, and stood at 463 as of Friday, up six from the week before and 59 from its lowest pandemic population of 404 on April 3. The MSDF inmate population still is down 24%, or 144 people, from its pre-crisis level of 607 on March 6. The number of people held for alleged probation and parole (including extended supervision) also has dropped significantly, from 905 on Feb. 28 to 315 on Friday, a decline of 65%. The first chart below shows the decline in prison population for each week beginning Feb. 28. The other charts show state prison populations over time. DOC stopped accepting most new inmates on March 23, shifting to countiesThe number of people incarcerated in state prisons testing positive for the coronavirus jumped 35% Monday, from 20 to 27, according to Department of Corrections figures. Meanwhile, the state's prison population still is declining during the coronavirus crisis, but at a much slower pace than it did earlier in the pandemic, DOC figures show. The biggest virus outbreak is at the Felmers O. Chaney Correctional Center in Milwaukee, where 13 people have tested positive. Four have tested positive at the Marshall E. Sherrer Correctional Center, also in Milwaukee. The DOC tested all 125 or so of the people held there last week. Most of those tests are pending, according to DOC figures. Two people incarcerated at Columbia Correctional Institution have tested positive, as have eight at Oshkosh Correctional Institution, according to the figures. Some 956 people are in quarantine, meaning they were potentially or directly exposed to the virus, according to the DOC. During the week that ended Friday, May 15, the number of occupied prison beds fell by 128, just 52% of the 243-inmate decline recorded the week ending April 10, which saw the biggest drop recorded thus far during the pandemic. The number of occupied beds in the prison system has dropped from 23,273 on Feb. 28 to 22,008 on Friday, a decline of 1,265, or 5.4%. The prison system is still about 25% over capacity. The number of filled inmate beds (as opposed to community corrections beds) at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility rose for the sixth week in a row, and stood at 463 as of Friday, up six from the week before and 59 from its lowest pandemic population of 404 on April 3. The MSDF inmate population still is down 24%, or 144 people, from its pre-crisis level of 607 on March 6. The number of people held for alleged probation and parole (including extended supervision) also has dropped significantly, from 905 on Feb. 28 to 315 on Friday, a decline of 65%. DOC stopped accepting most new inmates on March 23, shifting to counties the responsibility of housing sentenced inmates. The first chart below shows the change in prison population for each week beginning Feb. 28. The other charts show state prison populations over time.
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