Former City Council President Charles Pugh to be paroled from prison freep.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from freep.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Michigan prisons near ‘herd immunity,’ but coronavirus variant poses new threat
Updated Feb 22, 2021;
Posted Feb 20, 2021
Parnall Correctional Facility at 1780 E Parnall Road in Blackman Township. (J. Scott Park | Mlive.com) MLive Media GroupMLive Media Group
Facebook Share
Update: This story has been revised with additional information and clarification provided by MDOC spokesman Chris Gautz.
Nowhere in Michigan has the prevalence of the coronavirus been as pervasive as it is among the prison population.
The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) responded to rampant outbreaks with ongoing mass testing that reveals infection rates approaching what medical professionals refer to as herd immunity, the level of immunity that must exist before a virus has no available hosts and can die off.
88 Prisoners, 2 Staff Test Positive for UK Strain at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility 9and10news.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 9and10news.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Credit Kevin Rosseel / morguefile
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has identified 90 cases of the new coronavirus variant at the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility, in Ionia.
Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility is where the first known case of the new variant was found in Michigan prisons last Tuesday. According to a Michigan Department of Corrections email, an employee had the variant.
Health experts say the new coronavirus variant, B.1.1.7 that originated from the United Kingdom, is more contagious than the original strain.
After finding the new variant, MDOC said in an internal email last Tuesday to employees that incarcerated people and staff there will be tested daily until further notice. There are 1,678 incarcerated people and 406 employees at the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility, according to the MDOC.