The first two cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed among the 42,000 inmates in Arizona’s prisons, but authorities have declined to say whether any corrections employees have contracted the virus.
Advocates for prisoners say the discovery of COVID-19 in the prisons is a sign of bad things to come, given that inmates with compromised health live in close quarters.
The first case was confirmed in a Tucson inmate who has been hospitalized since March 27.
Another inmate at a private prison in Marana also tested positive.
Across Arizona, more than 2,700 coronavirus cases with 80 deaths have been reported.
