CoreCivic has received results from last week's facility-wide inmate and staff testing at Hardeman County Correctional Facility (HCCF) in Whiteville, TN. Staff testing includes both employees and contractors.

"The health and safety of the individuals entrusted to our care and our staff is the top priority for CoreCivic," said Keith Ivens, M.D., CoreCivic's Chief Medical Officer. "This commitment is shared by our partners at the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), and we have worked closely together with TDOC and state health officials to respond to this unprecedented situation appropriately, thoroughly and with care for the well-being of those entrusted to us and our communities."

CoreCivic is coordinating with TDOC to follow the state's mass testing strategy at all correctional facilities in Tennessee. The results of this testing at the facility will help inform additional decisions and efforts to cohort and quarantine those inmates who are positive or might have been exposed to the virus.

Inmate and staff testing at HCCF was conducted Tuesday, May 5 - Thursday, May 7 in partnership with TDOC. The results are as follows:

Human resources is currently coordinating with employees who were not available for testing this week to ensure testing has been completed before they are permitted to enter the facility.

All of the inmates and staff were asymptomatic at the time of testing. Across all inmates and staff prior to mass testing, only two inmates at HCCF have exhibited symptoms related to COVID-19, and they both are receiving medical attention at the facility. This is consistent with other correctional systems, which are reporting that 96 percent of inmates who tested positive are asymptomatic. ^[1]

Prior to this round of employee and contractor testing, there were two confirmed COVID-19 cases among HCCF staff. These employees have recovered from the virus and have been cleared by their healthcare provider to return to work. The facility is currently conducting contact tracing for all staff and inmates.

The rate of infection at HCCF is 7.86%, which is well below what is being reported by other correctional systems nationally. For example, more than 70 percent of inmates tested at Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities have received positive results.^[2]

We greatly appreciate our dedicated employees and their public counterparts at TDOC for their heroic efforts to keep those in our care, each other, and our communities safe during these unprecedented times.

On May 1, CoreCivic launched a 24-hour COVID-19 information hotline for family members of Tennessee incarcerated individuals. The hotline will operate 24/7 and be monitored by a live operator.  The hotline can be reached at (615) 263-3200. 

For the latest information on inmate testing, please visit TDOC's website at www.tn.gov/correction. For detailed information on CoreCivic's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we encourage you to visit our COVID-19 Response tab that we launched on our website. Our media statement can be found here. 

[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-prisons-testing-in/in-four-u-s-state-prisons-nearly-3300-inmates-test-positive-for-coronavirus-96-without-symptoms-idUSKCN2270RX 

[2] https://apnews.com/fb43e3ebc447355a4f71e3563dbdca4f