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State Prisons Ordered To Devise Plan For COVID-19 Testing Of All Inmates

(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

A North Carolina judge has ruled that state prisons must come up with a plan to test all inmates for COVID-19. 

The ruling by Wake County Superior Court Judge Vinston Rozier came in response to a lawsuit claiming that inaction by prison officials has left inmates vulnerable to the virus.

In addition to mandating a plan for testing all prisoners, the judge ruled that inmate transfers should be sharply curtailed.

The suit was filed by the ACLU of North Carolina, the NAACP, and other civil rights advocates.

According to the News & Observer, fewer than six percent of state prison inmates have been tested.

Prison officials have previously said they were following federal guidelines that suggest testing when people show symptoms of the virus.

A prison spokesman says the Department of Public Safety is consulting with the North Carolina Department of Justice to determine the next steps.

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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