On Monday, for the first time since the pandemic hit, no inmates in the entire Wisconsin prison system were infected with COVID-19.
The active case count among prisoners dropped to zero across all 37 of the state Department of Corrections' adult and youth facilities, according to the department's COVID-19 data dashboard. There were still three active positive cases among staff Monday, but employees quarantine at home when infected.
The last time inmate case numbers were that low was April 2, 2020, the day before DOC reported the first Wisconsin prisoner infected with COVID-19, at Columbia Correctional Institution.
What followed was many months of cases slowly ticking up, then skyrocketing into the thousands in the fall. Daily cases counts plummeted in January and have remained low throughout the spring as more prisoners get vaccinated.
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Monday’s news marks a positive milestone after dozens of outbreaks that involved hundreds of COVID-19 infections throughout the pandemic, and inmates who said they feared for their lives as the department struggled to contain the spread.
COVID-19 caused the deaths of 32 inmates. Nearly 11,000 of the roughly 20,000 state inmates were infected.
More than 12,400 inmates, or 65.4% of the eligible population, were fully vaccinated as of June 19, according to the most recent day data that is available. The vaccine numbers will be updated Tuesday.
With more people getting vaccinated and case counts consistently low, DOC announced in early June that in-person visitation will resume July 6.
All prison visits except those from inmates’ attorneys and other professionals have been suspended since March 13, 2020.
Fave 5: Emily Hamer picks her most impactful stories of 2020
Wisconsin State Journal reporter Emily Hamer's coverage of the protests in Madison this summer and of the criminal justice system is the work she thinks made the largest impact this year.
As many focused on the nighttime destruction that sometimes followed local protests against racism and brutality this summer, some people missed the passion and meaning behind the movement. One of Hamer's favorite stories was one that focused on how Madison's youth were a driving force of the nighttime protests that formed organically. They called their movement "a revolution." An honorable mention: 'Celebration of life': Madison protesters honor Breonna Taylor with birthday party.
Another impactful story revealed prosecutors can use small mistakes that aren't themselves crimes — such as drinking one beer, walking into a liquor store or forgetting a court date — to pressure defendants into pleading guilty.
Hamer was also the first to report that COVID-19-related deaths occurred in the Wisconsin prison system, along with the first to report when the Wisconsin Department of Corrections changed course and decided to disclose the deaths.
And before COVID-19 cases exploded in the prison system, a story in May showed that Wisconsin's largest prison was unprepared for the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. Guards and inmates saw many ways the virus could breach the walls of their facility and spread unabated. Now, more than seven months later, the prison has had the largest COVID-19 outbreak of any state prison, with more than 950 total cases among inmates.
Madison's youth came together organically this summer to protest against racism and police brutality after the death of George Floyd.
This story focused on the nuance behind the destruction that happened in Downtown Madison this summer. Most protesters tried for peace.
Drinking one beer, walking into a liquor store, forgetting a court date — actions that aren't themselves crimes can yield felony charges.
For more than a month, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections refused to disclose how many inmates had died from COVID-19.
This story showed that Wisconsin's largest prison was unprepared for the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.