The years-long effort to close St. Louis’ Medium Security Institution, the notorious Workhouse, was gaining momentum from a renewed Black Lives Matter movement when it stalled last week at the Board of Aldermen.
Now, one of the Close the Workhouse movement’s most recent fears has come true. Congregant housing sites like jails carry the highest risk for spreading infectious disease like COVID-19 — and one detainee has tested positive for the disease, according to a spokesperson for Mayor Krewson.
Upon learning of the positive test, the spokesperson said, the Division of Corrections “took immediate, proactive measures to quarantine this individual and all others they came into contact with.”
At this time, they remain under medical observation, the spokesperson said.
The city “will continue to aggressively follow the recommended CDC guidelines for correctional facilities and has already begun providing additional testing opportunities for all detainees and staff,” the spokesperson said.
This story is developing.
