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Mass Testing Underway At Federal Prison Where Six Inmates Died In Eight Days

(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

A federal prison complex near Raleigh has begun mass testing for COVID-19 after six inmates died in eight days.  

The warden of the Butner federal prison complex sent out an email saying that all inmates in a low-security facility would be tested for COVID-19 this week.

The News & Observer reports that 15 inmates at the prison have died since March.

The complex, located about 30 miles north of Raleigh, is made up of three facilities. The low-security building currently houses 1,170 inmates, or about a quarter of the prison's total population.

The first major outbreak at Butner occurred at one of its two medium-security facilities. All inmates who tested positive were then moved into what had been a closed special housing unit. That unit now has the most active cases, affecting 270 inmates and seven staff members.

Last week, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Butner claiming the prison is overcrowded and demanding that vulnerable inmates be released to home confinement. It also requests that the prison put together a plan for stricter measures protecting inmates and staff.

For the most up-to-date information on coronavirus in North Carolina, visit our Live Updates blog here. WFDD wants to hear your stories — connect with us and let us know what you're experiencing.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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