CONCORD, N.C. — Juveniles at a Concord detention center will be tested for COVID-19 after a staff member there tested positive for the coronavirus.
A staff member at Stonewall Jackson Youth Development Center in Concord tested positive for the coronavirus. The detention center said the Juvenile Justice employee has been off the job since May 10, following notification to the facility of potential exposure to the coronavirus. The employee began to show symptoms on May 13, when the test was taken.
All staff members who have come in close contact with the individual will be tested and self-quarantine.
“When we learned of our staff member’s potential exposure earlier this week, we placed on quarantine two juvenile living units where potential contact could have occurred as a standard precaution,” said Peter Brown, director of Stonewall Jackson YDC.
“We are monitoring the children on these units twice a day for fever and/or symptoms. Though to date, no juveniles have displayed any symptoms associated with COVID-19, we are taking the step of testing all children out of an abundance of caution.”
Staff members at Stonewall Jackson YDC have also been offered testing through the local health department.
The detention center said there has not been a confirmed COVID-19 test with the children in North Carolina's Juvenile Justice facilities.
Social distancing guidance has been implemented within juvenile detention centers and youth development centers. Juvenile detention centers, and individual living units within youth development centers, are held to a common area used for meals and recreation, along with individual rooms for each juvenile.
“We appreciate the quick and proactive assistance of the Cabarrus Health Alliance in this testing initiative at Stonewall Jackson YDC,” said William Lassiter, deputy secretary for Juvenile Justice.
“Through implementation of operational changes during this pandemic, Juvenile Justice has been following strict policies and procedures to reduce the opportunities for the potential spread of the virus in all our facilities, and to protect the health and well-being of our staff and the children who are in our care.”
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