COVID-19 Data

COVID-19 Data

COVID-19 Testing

The Department of Corrections employs multiple COVID-19 testing strategies:

  • symptomatic
  • contact 
  • intake 
  • pre-release 
  • boxed-in 
  • mass testing

In early March, the Department of Corrections began COVID-19 testing of offenders who exhibited symptoms of COVID-19 or may had contact with an infected person, following Centers for Disease Control & Prevention guidelines. Offenders are quarantined pending test results. This testing continues at all facilities. 

Testing of all offenders on intake, when first entering the prison system, and pre-release, one week before leaving the prison system, began June 1. This testing continues at all facilities.

Testing all offenders and staff in a housing unit or other contained area, known as boxed-in testing, is conducted any time an outbreak is suspected. This testing continues at all facilities.

Mass testing, or sentinel testing, of all offenders and staff at all facilities — regardless of symptoms or the presence of known cases — began May 26. This testing has taken place at most facilities and is expected to conclude in August 2020. This type of testing has revealed asymptomatic positives, as reflected in the data.

Post-Test Procedures

  • Offenders who test positive for COVID-19 are isolated until they test negative.
  • Staff who test positive are sent home on leave and must test negative twice before returning to work.
  • All staff who have close contact with a positive are sent home for two weeks of quarantine. 

Missouri Data in Context

Compared to all other state departments of corrections in the United States, Missouri ranks in the top 11 for testing rates (more offenders tested per capita) and the bottom 18 for infection rates (fewer cases per capita), according to data from the COVID Prison Project.

Many states with lower infection rates also have lower testing rates. Missouri's implementation of mass testing has helped state prisons to identify and isolate asymptomatic cases of COVID-19, thereby containing the spread of the virus. 

TOTAL COVID-19 CASES IN STATE ADULT INSTITUTIONS

since March 2020

List of covid-19 cases by facility

*Mass testing of offenders and staff completed.

  • Active Inmate Cases: 341
  • Active Staff Cases: 65

Inmates Tested

  • 19,483

Deaths

  • Offenders: 1
  • Staff: 0

Non-Prison Staff Cases: 17

  • Active Cases: 9
  • Recovered: 8

All protocols are followed to minimize exposure. When a staff member tests positive for COVID-19, the results are shared with people in the affected locations first, and then all staff are notified. 

For more information on Missouri Department of Corrections COVID-19-related health and safety measures, please visit https://doc.mo.gov/media-center/newsroom/covid-19.