Second inmate tests positive for coronavirus at Wichita Work Release Facility

Inmates from the Wichita Work Release Facility were moved to the Lansing Correctional Facility on Wednesday after another inmate tested positive for the novel coronavirus earlier in the week, according to a Kansas Department of Corrections spokesperson.

The inmate tested positive Monday and was taken to Lansing that day. The remainder of the 124 inmates on the same floor as him were moved Wednesday, Public Information Officer Rebecca Witte said in an email.

Also on Wednesday, 67 inmates in quarantine at Lansing were returned to Wichita. The inmates were part of the 113 people taken there after a coronavirus case at the Wichita facility was reported on April 12. The remaining 46 inmates taken to Lansing after the first case were brought back Monday, shortly before the second case was discovered.

The inmates brought back Monday were on a different floor than the second case, so they didn’t need to go back into quarantine at Lansing, Witte said.

The quarantine lasts 14 days, she said.

New construction at Lansing allows the inmates to be isolated from the rest of the inmates, the KDOC said in a news release. As of Wednesday, Lansing has 75 staff members and 73 inmates infected.

The virus has also been detected at the Topeka Correctional Facility and the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex. Two inmates at the Topeka women’s facility as well as an employee at Topeka and KJCC have been infected, the KDOC reported.

This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 12:25 PM.