Ë®¹ûÅÉAV

The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision revealed Monday that nearly all incarcerated individuals in four Hudson Valley prisons — Fishkill, Green Haven, Shawangunk and Wallkill — were tested. The department said 3,202 tests were offered and 3,006 incarcerated individuals tested negative for COVID-19. There were 148 positive cases and 46 inmates who refused to be tested were placed in medical isolation for 14 days. 

The latest data released by DOCCS shows that the number of COVID-19 cases among the incarcerated population increased from 604 on Aug. 2 to 754 on Sunday. The number of tests also rose from 5,866 to 8,472 in the same period. 

DOCCS explained that it consulted with the state Department of Health and decided to conduct facility-wide testing in the four prisons after older inmates were tested in July. The department tested 3,922 asymptomatic inmates who are age 55 and older, 77 of whom tested positive for COVID-19. 

After reviewing the testing data among older inmates, DOCCS determined that 75% of the positive tests were in the four Hudson Valley prisons. 

Green Haven, a maximum-security prison in Dutchess County, has reported 129 positive cases — more than any other correctional facility in the state. It surpassed Fishkill Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison that had the most cases until this week. Fishkill has 113 positive cases, according to the latest DOCCS report. 

Shawangunk, a maximum-security prison in Ulster County, has 101 positive cases. Wallkill, a medium-security prison in Ulster County, has 69 confirmed cases. 

Most of the recent testing was performed in Fishkill and Green Haven. Last week, Green Haven reported 468 total tests. As of Sunday, the number of tests in the facility is up to 1,582. There have been 1,397 inmates tested in Fishkill, up from 478 last week. 

"DOCCS, in consultation with DOH, continues to evaluate all options of further testing and anticipates doing additional targeted testing," the department wrote in an email to Ë®¹ûÅÉAV.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and DOCCS have been criticized New York's rate of testing in prisons lags behind other states. States like California have tested most of their inmates. Florida, which has more than double the number of inmates as New York, has tested nearly half of the prison population. 

Even with the recent spike in testing, New York has tested about 23% of its 37,559 inmates. 

DOCCS said Monday that it is complying with federal guidance and has expanded the testing pool during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pool, which includes older inmates and the populations at the four Hudson Valley prisons, also includes incarcerated individuals who are symptomatic or those quarantined because of contact with a positive case. 

The department has also tested inmates at its five regional medical units and the senior living dorm at Ulster Correctional Facility. All incarcerated women at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility who are either pregnant or in the postpartum period are tested for COVID-19. 

Any incarcerated individual who is tested is isolated until the results are available. If there is a positive case, the incarcerated individual remains in isolation for at least 14 days until they no longer have symptoms and they do not have a fever for 72 hours without the aid of medication, according to the department. Incarcerated individuals who have contact with a positive case are quarantined and tested for COVID-19. 

Since the outbreak began in New York, 1,312 DOCCS employees, 754 inmates and 84 parolees have tested positive for COVID-19. There have been 26 deaths — 17 inmates, 5 employees and four parolees.