COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Coronavirus infections among prison workers at some Ohio correctional facilities are spreading so rapidly that it’s time to seek outside staffing help, the head of the union representing state guards said Friday.
The latest figures show 95 staffers at Marion Correctional Facility have tested positive for the virus, more than a quarter of the total staff of about 350. At Pickaway Correctional Facility, where some members of the Ohio National Guard already were sent to supplement medical staffing, 48 of about 340 employees had positive tests.
In Marion, 217 inmates tested positive, along with 149 at Pickaway, according to Department of Rehabilitation and Correction data. A total of 184 staff members statewide have tested positive, along with 489 inmates.
Four prisoners at Pickaway and one guard at Marion have died of COVID-19.
The head of the corrections officers union at the Allen Oakwood Correctional Institute said morale is “in the toilet.” Guards have complained that safety concerns are being ignored and that they have been denied emergency stipend pay, Shawn Gruber told The Lima News.
Guards at Marion and elsewhere are being directed to work 12- and 16-hour shifts to compensate for the staff shortages, said Christopher Mabe, president of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association.
“We need people to assist with the security of the institutions, in our eyes,” Mabe said.
A message was left with the corrections department Friday seeking comment.
In other coronavirus-related developments Friday:
ECONOMY
Gov. Mike DeWine was expected to provide more details about his Thursday announcement that some Ohio businesses could begin reopening after May 1 as long as proper precautions are taken amid the pandemic.
Ohio’s unemployment rate jumped to 5.5% in March, up from 4.1% in February, which was also the rate in March 2019. Employment dropped by almost 40,000 in March, according to the Department of Job and Family Services.
The owner of a northern Ohio racetrack that hosts dozens of events each year, including the National Hot Rod Association series, vowed to open this summer. “I’m not asking. I’m opening,” said Summit Motorsports Park owner Bill Bader Jr.
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CASES
To date, Ohio has confirmed more than 8,400 cases and 389 deaths, according to new federal guidelines that allow cases and deaths considered “probable” COVID-19 infections without a positive test.
The pandemic has caused more than 2,300 hospitalizations in Ohio, with more than 700 people needing treatment in intensive care units.
Health care workers account for 20% of the overall cases in the state. Nursing homes have reported more than 800 cases, or about one in 10.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a couple of weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
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Associated Press writer John Seewer in Toledo contributed to this report.